A Linc Between Worlds
by Thefoxmage
Summary: A sort of continuation of "One of the Boys". The Lincoln of the Loud Brothers' universe has run away from home, so Levi decides to enlist the help of Lincoln Loud from the main universe to help find him. Will Lincoln be able to help them find their lost brother? And even if he did, would he be willing to come back? Rated T for later chapters, just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

A Linc between Worlds chapter 1

It was late into the night, and the Loud House was ironically quiet and peaceful. The residents of the house were all sleeping deeply; dreams of their day, their futures, or their fondest wishes aiding in their slumber. That is, except for one. One of the youngest of the Loud children, Lisa, was taking the rare quiet time to catch up on her reading in the room she shared with baby Lily. With ten siblings and several animals in the house, the daylight hours were too noisy and chaotic for proper reading in Lisa's mind. It's a wonder Lincoln could read his comics in such a cacophony, she thought to herself. As her eyelids started to get heavy, something unusual caught her eye. A little watch set on her work table was flashing with a green light. Curious, she got up from her bed and went over to investigate. The watch was the same watch she had created to send her brother, Lincoln, to another dimension, to experience life with ten brothers instead of sisters. She had since updated the watch to send and receive messages, and right now, someone was attempting to contact her. "Odd. Who would need to communicate with me at this hour?" She pondered as she picked up the watch, tapping a button on it. "Good evening?"

"Evening, Lisa." Came the response from a familiar, lispy voice. "I do hope I didn't disrupt your sleep."

"Ah. Levi. No, I was just reading an engaging book on astrophysics."

"Nothing like a little light reading before slumber, I suppose." Levi said with a chuckle. Lisa snickered a bit herself. Levi was, well, her from the same dimension she had sent Lincoln to before. The only the difference between them was their gender. In almost every other way, they were identical. "But I'm afraid I'm not here for idle, yet intellectual chit chat. I am in need of your assistance...or more accurately, the assistance of your brother, Lincoln."

"Lincoln?" Lisa asked with a raised eyebrow. What could her older, yet simpler, brother provide that she could not, she pondered.

"Indeed. You see, our Lincoln has fled from our residence, and we have no idea where to find him. I deduced that the best one to know his movements would be Lincoln himself."

"Sounds logical. A moment please, whilst I wake my sibling and obtain his aid." Lisa put the watch into her pocket and tip toed her way into the converted closet that was Lincoln's room. The middle child of the family was curled up under the covers, looking utterly serene. "Almost a shame to wake him, but this is important." She commented, not even bothering to whisper. "Dear brother, I need you to wake up…" She added, gently shaking his shoulder. Lincoln grunted a bit as he opened one eye to look at her.

"L…..Lisa? Did you have that nightmare about getting a B+ instead of an A again?" He asked groggily.

"Don't even kid about something like that…." Lisa responded in an agitated manner, glaring at the half awake boy before her. "...and no. Your assistance is required in a matter of the utmost importance."

"It's too early for science, Lisa…" He groaned.

"Blasphemy!" Levi and Lisa exclaimed together. This got Lincoln's attention, causing him to sit up.

"Who else is here!?" A shocked Lincoln asked, looking around. Rather than answering, she pulled out the dimensional travel watch, holding it before him.

"Salutations, brother from another existence." Levi said in greeting. Lincoln just stared at the device in confusion. Where had he heard that voice before? The answer hit him like a smack to the back of the head.

"Levi!?" He asked with an angry frown.

"You remember me. Not at all kindly, by the sound of it."

"Lisa, what's going on!?"

"First off, keep your voice down. If we wake the parental units, we will have much explaining to do."

"Oh...sorry."

"Better. Now, second, Levi and his kin are in a bit of a quandry."

"Quite true. Our brother, the Lincoln from our dimension, appears to have run away from home."

"Gee….I wonder why..." Lincoln grumbled sarcastically.

"I understand the last time you had come here, it was a...less than pleasant experience-"

"That's an understatement…." Lincoln interrupted sourly.

"-but I assure you that what had occurred the last time was far from a typical day." Levi continued.

"Not only that, Lincoln, but you must remember you are used to living within a house of sisters." Lisa interjected.

"A prospect most frightening to me." Levi said with shudder.

"You have become accustomed to such a lifestyle. I am sure their Lincoln is more used to the more rough and tumble life with his brothers."

"I suppose…" Lincoln commented. "But why should I help them when they treated me so miserably? Regardless of if it was normal day or not." With that, Lisa sighed.

"Dear Brother, I understand you are under no obligation to assist Levi or his brothers. However, Levi is my friend, and he is most distraught at the disappearance of his brother. I, for one, can say I would be inconsolable if I were to lose you, Lincoln." Lisa said, looking up at him with big puppy dog eyes, filled with tears. "Please, dear brother. If not for them, then for me?" Lincoln did his best not to look into her eyes, but one glance pulled him into them and melted his resolve in seconds.

"...I really wish our sisters never taught you that…fine. I'll help…"

"Thank you, Lincoln." Lisa said, wiping her eyes and handing him the watch. "I made a few adjustments to the apparatus. Instead putting you right into the other Lincoln's shoes, you will exist as a similar, yet separate entity."

"I don't have to worry about being seen or being around the other me, do I?"

"Of course not. This is dimensional travel, not time travel." Lisa answered, a little annoyed. "Also, you have no time limit, unlike last time. Take all the time you need. I will cover for you while you're gone."

"Right then. Wish me luck, Lisa." Lincoln said, grabbing a change of clothes before turning on the watch. "I think I'm going to need it." The portal to Levi's world soon opened, Lincoln sighing as he stepped through.

"Good luck, brother." Lisa said, just as the portal closed.

Levi steps back as a shimmering portal opened within his room, a rather grumpy looking Lincoln leaping through. "You have my gratitude, Lincoln, for agreeing to aid us in locating our wayward brother."

"Whatever...let's just get this over with. But I warn you...any funny business and you're on your own. Got it?"

"Very well." Levi said with a sigh. "Please follow me to Luke and Lane's room."

"What? Why THEIR room?" Lincoln asked suspiciously.

"Luke recently soundproofed the room. We can have a meeting there without disturbing Mother and Father. They are, as yet, unaware of his disappearance." Levi explained as he quietly led Lincoln through the hall.

"How is that even possible? How long have I -I mean- Lincoln been gone?"

"A few hours. He was seen in his bed at lights out, but then Lars discovered his bed empty and his drawers devoid of his things later in the night. All will be explained in a moment." The half pint brainiac quickly glances up and down the hall before tapping on the door three times.

"Who's there?" a hushed voice responded from the keyhole.

"Lane, this is no time for levity…"

"Lane, this is….ow! Ok! Ok! Geez, no one respects the classics." Levi sighs as the door made a small click and creeped open slightly. Levi slipped in first, gazing into the room at his nine other siblings: Luke was sitting on his top bunk, tuning his guitar absently. Lane was standing by the door and rubbing the back of his head, glaring over at Lynn Jr, who was bouncing a tennis ball on the floor and glaring right back. Leif and Lexx were sitting with Leon, keeping him from crying by the look of it. Lars had planted himself in a dark corner of the room, holding his poetry book close to him. Loki was sitting on the bottom bunk, flipping through his phone while looking bored, while Loni was looked blissfully ignorant as he hummed to himself in his pajamas.

"So, when is the slumber party starting?" He asked.

"For the last time, this isn't a slumber party…" Loki answered in an annoyed manner. " It's a sibling meeting, and now that Poindexter has returned, we can get on with it." Levi rolls his eyes at the Poindexter comment.

"Very well. But first-" Levi motions for someone outside the door to come in.

Outside, Lincoln takes a deep breath before looking toward the fourth wall. "Well, this is it. Probably an ambush. If I don't make it out of this…tell my sisters I loved them...and tell Ronnie Anne...well, you know." He braced himself as he stepped into what he believed to be the lion's den. The moment he stepped inside, Lane shut the door hastily and quietly.

"Lincoln!" Leif and Lexx cried, leaping to their feet and charging at him. The snow haired lad nearly jumped out of his skin and reached for the return button. However, before he could, the twins clung to his legs in a big hug. This caught him completely off guard, causing him to just stare at them as Leon waddled over and hugged his left leg with Leif.

"This...was not what I was expecting." Lincoln admitted to the audience.

"See? What'd I tell you? Little twerp was just hiding out, trying to make it look like he ran away from home." Loki said, gesturing toward the confused eleven year old before him with a smug look on his face.

"Sadly, incorrect, Loki." Levi corrected him, adjusting his glasses. "This is not our Lincoln."

"You sure? Looks like our Lincoln." Lane said, circling the young man from another dimension.

"Feels like our Lincoln." Leif added, poking Lincoln in the side.

"Hehehey! Don't do that!" Lincoln said while chuckling and trying to brush his hand away.

"Sounds like the little dude, too." Luke commented as he set his axe down and lept to ground level.

"That is because this is Lincoln Loud from another plane of existence. Another branch of life. Another dimension!" Levi started to explain, getting more dramatic with each word, before regaining his composure and clearing his throat. "Sorry. Transdimensional travel is an exciting topic for me. At any rate, this Lincoln comes from a world where he inhabits a home exactly like ours with ten sisters instead of brothers. I hasten to add that this is not his first visit to our world. He once took the place of our brother some time ago."

"I think I get the plan." Loki said, tapping his chin with a smirk. "We sub our bro with this Lincoln until he decides to come out of wherever he is hiding. Great idea, Levi."

"Once more, incorrect. We already searched the house from top to bottom, if you recall. Lincoln- our Lincoln - is not hiding on the premises. My plan is to enlist this Lincoln's aid in finding our runaway brother as quickly as possible. After all, who would know his movements and potential strategies better than himself."

"That makes sense, I guess." Lincoln said, the twins and Leon letting go of his legs. "Alright...well, I guess the best place to start is seeing the note."

"What note? He didn't leave a note." Loni said.

"No note? What runaway doesn't leave a goodbye note?"

"My point exactly." Loki butt in, playing with his phone.

"One not wishing to be found, I imagine." Levi answered, ignoring his eldest brother.

"I see…any idea why he wouldn't want to be found? Why did he run away?" Lincoln looks around at the alternate Louds, most of which looking a little sheepish and guilty.

"I...might have taken his breakfast this morning…" Loni admitted, pressing his pointer fingers together. No breakfast before school...good start, Lincoln thought sullenly.

"I kinda asked Leif to 'fix' his bike to fall apart when he went to ride it." Lane confessed with a nervous chuckle. One glare from his other dimensional brother made him add. "It was just a prank…"

"I spooked him with a high note at his school, making him wet himself in front of everyone." Luke followed. "I didn't mean to! I just wanted to scare him a little, not embarrass him."

"I gave him the biggest Dutch Oven while trapping him in Lars' coffin." Lynn stated with a shrug.

"It took all day to get the smell out. I did not appreciate that…" The goth lad complained.

"I made him play Prince Charming with me, under threat of telling Mom and Dad if he didn't." Lexx divulged, shuffling a foot a bit.

"that...doesn't sound that bad." Lincoln said, looking confused.

"Well…he played the princess. And I filmed it. And posted it online. To get compliments for my acting skills." He elaborated, shrugging with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Ah. I see." Lincoln replied in a deadpan manner. "What about you, Loki?"

"Gave Linc a swirly." He replied with a shrug.

"...I'm afraid to ask, but why?"

"Thought it would be funny. And it was." The oldest Loud brother snickered to himself. Lincoln facepalmed before looking to Levi.

"Before you ask, I did nothing." Levi said, holding his arms behind his back as he looked up into Lincoln's eyes. "But that doesn't mean I am guiltless. I may not have harmed him in any way, I offered no aid either. I suppose my apathy to his plight was just as bad…"

"...I can see why he ran away, alright."

"Come on, man...it was just some boyish pranks." Luke explained. "Well, from most of us anyway…we were just messing with him, not trying to hurt him."

Yeeeah. Not buying it, the white haired Loud thought to himself.

"And what Luke and I did were accidents." Loni included, getting a small laugh from Lane.

"Hehe. Accident…." He quietly commented, but he ceased his laughter when Lincoln leered at him. "Sorry. Sounded too good not to laugh at."

"Your Lincoln clearly doesn't see it that way...especially if it happened all in one day."

"That was poor planning on our part." Lane admitted. "We didn't know our pranks would overlap, or that Loni would have forgot he never cooked his own breakfast."

"Well, we know why he ran away, but he left no clues as to where he could have gone." Luke mused, rubbing his chin.

"That's why I brought this Lincoln here." Levi pointed out. "So, can you provide any insights?" Lincoln thought for a moment. Where would I go in this Lincoln's shoes, he wondered. After a few seconds of quiet thought, he finally spoke up.

"I can think of three places I'd go if I were as upset as he was. Three people I could go to confide in." He started, raising three fingers. "First, Clyde."

"An obvious choice, I admit." Levi commented.

"Second, Ronnie Anne."

"You mean your giiiirlfriend?" Loki taunted, making mocking kissing noises. This got a few snickers from the younger siblings and Lane.

"I'm not even from…..nevermind." The middle Loud groaned in frustration. "Anyway, third would be Pop Pop."

"Then let us sally forth and find our misplaced sibling!" Lexx declared dramatically, pointing toward the door.

"Over acting aside-" Levi started, getting an angry leer from his slightly older brother. "-Lexx is right. We must move with all due haste. All who wish to accompany us…"

"Aye!" Luke, Leif, Lexx, Loni, Lane and Lars all raised their hands.

"I'mma just stay here." Loki said, finally putting his phone down. "Just in case you guys are wasting your time following alt dweeb on a wild wimp chase."

"I gotta game in the morning." Lynn said, spinning the tennis ball on his finger.

"Very well. Someone would need to stay with Leon and distract Mother and Father should they begin to suspect a ruse anyway." The little baby Loud looks sadly up at Levi, who pats him on the head. "Sincerest apologies, youngling, but we need to travel quick and light. We will bring our brother home. I promise." Leon crossed his arms in front of him in objection, but realized pretty quick that pouting wouldn't work in this case.

After giving Lane and the Lincoln from another world time to change, the six loud brothers and one interdimensional traveller made their way to the Loud family garage, where they kept their bike gear and bikes, as well as Lexx' motorized jeep. Since Leif had dismantled his Lincoln's bike, this Lincoln had to ride in Luke's sidecar. It was a little small and uncomfortable, but it was better than running behind the pack. Once everyone was set, Loni opened the garage door and the squad sped off into the early dawn. "Let's start at Clyde's." Lincoln said, holding on to the sidecar as Luke rocketed down the road. "It's the closest and the first place I would go."

"Sounds good. Hopefully, he's still there." Leif said, pedalling as hard as he could. An awkward sort of silence followed for several seconds, before finally being broken by Loni.

"So…..Levi says you're from another world?"

"Another dimension, more specifically." Levi corrected him.

"Right. That. Where we're not your brothers, but sisters."

"Yeees…" Lincoln said slowly, wondering where this was going.

"What are we like?" The dimmest of the brothers asked curiously.

"Huh? Well….really, you're not all that different, personality wise...for the most part." Lincoln answered, hoping it would be left at that. However, the curious gazes of Loni and the younger brothers suggested otherwise. "Ok...there are a few minor differences. For instance, Leni is really into fashion and designing clothes."

"Really? Me too." Loni commented happily, catching Lincoln off guard. "Only I'm more into making costumes for, like, plays and Halloween and such."

"Yeah." Lexx confirmed. "He makes me costumes for all my performances and pageants."

"Huh. That is kinda cool." Lincoln commented.

"Thanks." Loni replied proudly.

"As for you, Lexx, Lola's talents lie more in singing, dancing, ribbon twirling, etc, instead of acting, though you share a passion for youth pageants."

"I do dabble in song and dance, but acting is where I truly shine."

"Not mention tattling." Leif included, getting laughs from all his brothers. Even Lincoln got a laugh out of that.

"Shots fired." Lane commented, while Lexx glared at his twin.

"Har har. You're just jealous how much the audience loves me."

"Excuse me while I barf…" Leif gagged as he feigned throwing up.

"Anyway, Leif...you and Lana aren't at all different. You're kinda messy, good with animals, great with tools." Lincoln proceeded to explain.

"Sounds like my kinda sister."

"What about me?" Luke asked, glancing at the boy from another dimension beside him. "Does your version of me still rock?"

"Out loud."

"Aw yeah!" Luke exclaimed, throwing his fist into the air.

"Though Luna is much, much nicer…." Lincoln added, clearly still salty about the swirly on his last visit. Luke sighs a bit.

"Look, little dude, I'm sorry about that. I'm just not a morning person, and very cranky before I had my cup of joe." Lincoln felt that was no excuse, but he was willing to give him credit for apologizing.

"Bet you were mad about that. Your face was all 'flushed'" Lane joked, laughing at his own joke. The Loud Brothers all had a hearty laugh at that. Lincoln just sulked, fighting back a wave of snickers himself. He hated to admit it, but that was kind of a good one.

"Moving on...Luan is a practical joker herself, but she prefers the use of booby traps. I noticed you prefer to get more 'hands on' Lane."

"Hahahaha. Yeah, I feel it adds a 'personal touch'." Lane jested.

"As far as Lars goes, I'd say you're pretty close to my sister Lucy." Lincoln explained, turning to the pale boy all in black. "Except Lucy has a talent for appearing from seemingly nowhere."

"Wicked." Lars replied with a small smile. "Wonder if she can teach me how to do that."

"The Lynn from this world is..pretty much an exact copy of the Lynn from my world. I can't find any difference between them. They're both even named Lynn Jr."

"Really? Don't tell Lynn. He would probably freak." Luke said. "...on second thought, allow me."

"And as for Loki…..he seems to have a lot of Lori's most negative traits and few of her positive ones. I mean, Lori is bossy and overbearing sometimes, but she keeps the order in the house in a pinch. Yeah, her eyes are glued to her phone and she's prone to...threats of violence… but when the chips are down, we know she really cares and she'll come through for us...and I don't get that from Loki." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence among the boys following Lincoln's word. Most of them wanted to say something in Loki's defense, but they couldn't. He really wasn't that far off. As they approached the McBride residence, Luke finally spoke up.

"Lincoln...er...alt Linc. Listen, you may not be entirely wrong about Loki, but you gotta understand, little brother from an alternate mother...he's at a tough age in life. Pressures of going to college after high school, his relationship with Bebe, keeping his grades up, all the responsibilities of being the oldest...it's a heavy load to bear. And then there are the raging hormones…but you'll be learning about that soon enough yourself. My point being the guy is under a lot of stress, and we all deal with it in different ways...even if they aren't the best." Luke said calmly as he stopped the bike. "Not saying it's an excuse…" he added before Lincoln could speak. "...just trying to get you to see things from his eyes." Lincoln looks toward his rock and roll brother quietly as he considered what he said. He knew Lori had a lot of responsibilities and knew she was planning for college, but she always seemed to have everything under control. Then again, if she kept all these problems to herself, how would anyone know? Lincoln didn't usually give Lori too much grief (at least, not on purpose), but he made a mental note to not to bother her so much when he got back.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Look alive, everyone. We're here." Lane said, then turned to Lars. "You're excused in that case, Lars."

"Ha ha…" Lars retorted sarcastically.

"Ok, here's how we're gonna do this." Lexx said, climbing out of his motorized toy jeep. "We'll give Clyde the 'good cop, bad cop' bit. Loni, you're the good cop."

"Yeah!" Loni cheered. "Do I get a badge?"

"Let's...just pretend, shall we?" Lexx said, a little exasperated. "I'll be the bad cop."

"Or we could...you know...just ask him!?" Lincoln suggested.

"Alt Lincoln, you're a fine detective, but you don't know anything about questioning a suspect." Lexx responded in a condescending manner, patting his arm. Lincoln glared at him as Loni knocked the door. Luckily for them, Clyde was already awake and came down to answer the door.

"Hello? How can I…?" He started to ask, but the moment he saw all of Lincoln's brothers, he nearly screamed and tried to slam the door shut. Leif stuck his foot in the door, however, the door shutting on his steel toed shoe. This gave Lexx and Loni an opening to barge inside and push Clyde onto the nearest couch. The pageant Prince then shines a flashlight in Clyde's face, causing him to wince.

"Alright, dirtbag. We got some questions for you, and you better have the right answers. I haven't had my handsome sleep and I am NOT happy today…" Loni pulls Lexx away and walks over by Clyde.

"Chill out, Clyde. We just want to ask you a few things." Loni explained calmly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No need to be so nervous."

"Unless you got something to hide…." Lexx interrupted, getting in Lincoln's friend's face.

"W...w...what do you want…?" Clyde asked nervously.

"Don't act like you don't know!"

"Lexx, whoa. Indoor voice. His dads might still be asleep." Loni whispered.

"Oh. Right. Good call, Loni." He responded, giving his older brother the thumbs up, then turning back to his 'suspect'. "As I was saying, you know what we're talking about."

"I….I….I." Clyde stuttered.

"Whoa, calm down, little guy. We're just looking for Lincoln. If you tell us where to find him, we'll be right on our way." Loni told him, kneeling down to look him in the eyes.

"...he's right over there." Clyde said, pointing at the alternate Lincoln.

"Wow, that was fast." Loni said, smiling.

"Wrong Lincoln, Loni." Levi reminded him.

"Wait, what?" Clyde asked in confusion.

"Never you mind. Now see here, four eyes….let's just make it easy on both of us. It'll all come out in the wash anyway, so unless you wanna be left holding the laundry bag, you better air out your dirty laundry. We have ways of making you talk, after all." Clyde looked like a deer in the headlights, shaking violently. Lincoln sighed, his face in his palm.

"We don't have time for this…" he grumbled. He stepped forward and pushed the two of them out of the way.

"Hey! What was that for!? We were on a roll." Lexx complained.

"No we're not. We're on a rug." Loni pointed out.

"Let me handle this, guys. Clyde, walk with me. Talk with me." The white haired boy said, gently helping his friend up and stepping away from the brothers. "Ok, here's the situation. I'm not the same Lincoln, so to speak." He started explaining. "I was brought here from another dimension by Levi to find their Lincoln."

"You mean there are really versions of us in whole other worlds?" Clyde asked. Lincoln nodded in response. "I knew it. Do we have cool superpowers in that dimension?"

"Heh. I wish. But anyway, did the Lincoln from this world come here earlier?"

"Yeah. He got here a little after midnight. He asked if he could stay for the night, but left a little less than an hour ago."

"Did he say where he was going?"

"...I can't say. I promised I wouldn't tell."

"Hmm. You promised Lincoln you wouldn't tell, right?" Clyde nodded. "And while I'm not the same Lincoln, I am still Lincoln, right?"

"Right."

"Then it would be alright to tell just me, right?" Clyde had to think for a moment.

"I guess that makes sense...ok." he leaned in closer to whisper to the other Lincoln. "He said that after he left here, he was going to pay Ronnie Anne a visit. Honestly, I was kinda hoping she could talk him out of this. I tried, but I don't think it helped."

"Thanks, buddy. You're a good friend." Lincoln said, patting Clyde on the shoulder. He turns to the Loud brothers and motions that they should go.

"You're no fun. You know that, right?" Lexx said grumpily.

"This isn't a fun matter." Lars pointed out. "We need to find our brother before Mom and Dad wake up."

"Which, given the ascension of the sun, may prove an impossibility." Levi said, looking up at the sky as they left.

"Then we better double time it to Ronnie Anne's." Lincoln said, hopping into the sidecar of Luke's bike. Then, a potential problem struck him. "Er...she still lives in the area, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Loni asked.

"Whew. I asked because Ronnie Anne moved to a different city hours away in my world."

"Dude...that's harsh, being so far from your girl.." Luke said sympathetically.

"She's not my girl, Luke…" Lincoln grumbled, blushing.

"Oh, don't deny it." Lane said with a grin. "Your face is redder than a tomato just talking about her." The rest of the Loud brothers started laughing, Leif and Lexx making mocking kissing noises.

"...you guys are as bad as my sisters…" Lincoln mumbled. "Though at least they don't make fun of me for being friends with Ronnie Anne...and what are you laughing about, Lars? You have a girlfriend too, don't you?" The gothic boy stopped his snickering, the memory of his statue of Griselda from Vampires of Melonchalia came to mind.

"...fair point." He replied.

"Cool it, Alt Linc." Lief spoke up. "It's just something we do. We even made fun of Loki when he got with Bebe...well, until Lane got a black eye for it."

"All I did was make a comment about her rear, and ended up the 'butt' of my own joke." Lane joked, snickering. "But yeah, stupid move in 'hindsight'."

"Point being, we may rib our Lincoln and you, but it's nothing personal. I mean, a lot of us would love to have a girl as tough as Ronnie Anne by our side." Loni said.

"Sorry...it's just a sensitive subject to me." Lincoln explained. "My sisters back home, though they don't really tease me, keep trying to get us together and set us up for romantic dates. They just don't understand we're just friends. It drives me crazy."

"Lucky dog." Lexx said.

"Lexx, I point out that this Lincoln has eleven sisters, all of which focused on interfering with his relationships." Levi said flatly. "Somehow, it doesn't seem all that lucky."

"...I think I see your point."

"There it is." Luke declared, pointing up ahead to the Santiago residence.

"Excellent. We're making decent time." Levi commented, hopping off his bike. "Alternate Lincoln, I feel you should take the lead on this one. Ronnie Anne will no doubt be more willing to exchange information with you than with any of us." The white haired boy nodded, opting to keep his helmet on as he walked to the door. He could hear what sounded like very concerned voices as he knocked in the door. The door opened just a crack as a tall young lady peeked outside, looking frantic with worry by what little he could see.

"I'm sorry, this is not the…..Lincoln!?" Lincoln jumped back as the door was flung open, nearly hitting him. He looked up at the woman who had answered the door. She reminded him a lot of Bobby, except she was female. He suspected this was probably Bebe. "Nie Nie! Lincoln is here!" She called excitedly. Ronnie Anne leaned over to see past the door frame and her sister, her eyes locking on the boy from another dimension.

"Lincoln!" She cried out, barging past Bebe and nearly tackling Lincoln with a big bear hug. He stumbled a little, nearly falling off the porch. A few tears trickled from her tightly closed eyes. Most of the Loud brothers snickered at the sight of this, but Levi was more interested in what she had in her hand; a piece of paper. Most likely, a note. After a few seconds of embracing him, Ronnie Anne suddenly pushed Lincoln to arms length, looking furious at him. "You scared us half to death, Lame-o!" She shouted, rearing back her fist to punch him.

"Wait!" came the pleas of six brothers, Bebe and Lincoln, but all fell on deaf ears. Her fist went right for his face, but Lincoln was quite agile and he was just barely able to duck it.

"Ronnie Anne, wait a minute! Let me explain!" He pleaded with her. She wasn't having any of that, ready to throw another punch. Bebe ran forward to stop her, but something made her stop herself.

"Wait a minute….you never dodged before…" she said. It was then she got a really good look at him and frowned. Something wasn't right in her eyes. She started to circle the worried young man, who dared not say another word. After a full minute of inspecting, she walked over to Levi and picked him up, looking him right in the spectacled eyes. "What did you do to him?"

"What gives you the impression this is my doing?" Levi asked.

"That is not the same Lincoln. He's much too scrawny…"

"Hey!" Lincoln crossed his arms in front of him, looking offended.

"...and much too quick. And you're the only one I know who could pull off something like that."

"...a fair point. And I suppose you are right on both counts. If you would kindly put me down, I would be more than happy to explain the situation." She glared at the four year old genius for a moment before putting him down. Upon his release, Levi went on to explain the whole story to her, giving the abridged version since time wasn't on their side. By the end of it, Ronnie Anne was tightly gripping the bridge of her nose in anger and frustration.

"So….let me get this straight. Because you guys were messing with him all day…"

"Not on purpose...well, not all of us…" Loni interjected.

"Shut it." Ronnie Anne replied, glaring at him. "...our Lincoln decided to run away from home, and because you guys know so little about your own brother, you had to call in ANOTHER Lincoln from another flipping dimension...just to find him again. Did I leave ANYTHING out!?"

"Actually, summoning alternate Lincoln here was so we could expedite the search."

"Ok! So you were scared of getting in trouble! Better!?" She yelled.

"Fair comment."

"Point is, you messed up and you had to go find someone else to clean up your mess!"

"Hey, we already got this lecture from Alt Linc here." Luke commented.

"Ronnie Anne, I know you're upset. I am too. But this isn't helping." Lincoln calmly said, getting the furious attention of his other dimensional best friend. He flinched a bit, but kept going. "You are right, they did mess up and royally. But they're at least trying to find him and make up for what they did. That is something, right?" Her face softened a little as he said that. "And speaking of finding him, that's why we're here. We were hoping you may have some idea of where your Lincoln- shut it." He said, glancing toward his brothers before they started up with his choice of words. "-where Lincoln could possibly be going." Ronnie took a deep breath as she eased up a little.

"...well, I didn't see him, but he had left this note under the door." She handed Lincoln the note. "Don't read it out loud." He nodded, turning so the brothers couldn't read over his shoulder.

 _Dear Ronnie Anne,_

 _By the time you get this note, I will probably be well on my way_. ("Dang it." Lincoln grumbled) _I made the decision to run away from home. Please do not be sad for me or angry at me_ ("Too late") _but it's something I feel I must do. I wish I could have seen you one last time before I departed, but the idea of seeing you so sad (or simply knocking my lights out) would have just made things all the more difficult. I am sorry, but I promise I will come back again sometime, after I make it on my own. You have been a dear friend to me (if kinda punchy) and I consider myself fortunate to have a best friend like you._

 _Love, Lincoln Loud._

Lincoln frowned as he poured over the letter. It said a lot to him, but unfortunately not what he wanted to know. He folded up the message and handed it back. "Has he said anything to you recently about any place he would go if he could?" He asked her, hoping for some kind of clue. She replied by shaking her head. 'Dang it. This Lincoln really doesn't want to be found...left hardly any clues.'

"Do you think you can find little Lincoln?" Bebe asked, both worried and very much confused.

"Well, I still have one more lead to follow." Lincoln said after a moment's thought. "Pop Pop. I wouldn't try and leave without saying goodbye to him."

"Then let's roll." Luke said.

"Hold it! I'm coming with you." Ronnie Anne said.

"Now hold on…" Lexx started to say.

"No. You hold on. You're the reasons Lincoln left in the first place!" She snapped, causing the brothers to cringe. "I'm going with you to ensure he comes back in one piece...even if I have to drag him back kicking and screaming." She ran inside to get her skateboard and helmet, Lincoln smiling a bit as he watched.

"Guess even across universes, Ronnie Anne is still Ronnie Anne." He said as he faced the audience.

"In the meantime, I'm going to call Loki and your parents." Bebe said, pulling out her phone, an angry look on her face.

"Whoa! That is..entirely unnecessary." Lane said nervously.

"It's entirely necessary." She corrected him. "They need to know and I need to give Loki a piece of my mind." She added, dialing the number rapidly.

"...shall I start planning our funerals?" Lars asked solemnly.

"That would probably be wisest…" Levi said. "If mother and father do not have our heads for this, Loki will. And on that note, I would like my head preserved, so they can potentially reanimate it so my genius can live on."

"I'll make a note of that." Lars said just as Ronnie Anne returned.

"Alright. You guys know the way, so lead on." She said as she secured her helmet.

"Let's roll." Luke repeated, less enthusiastically. The eight of them rode off, Lincoln back in the sidecar, leaving Bebe yelling at her boyfriend over the phone. They cycled along for about ten minutes in silence, until Levi said.

"Gentlemen and Ronnie Anne, turn left into these woods. It should provide a shorter route to our grandfather's." The Loud siblings turned into some dense woods, leaving Ronnie Anne behind since her skateboard couldn't get through the grass effectively.

"Guys! Wait!" Lincoln called out as they rode through the rough terrain, weaving through the trees.

"Sorry, Linc, but we gotta hurry. She'll have to catch up." Luke replied, keeping his eyes on the path in front of him.

"I wonder why we haven't used this shortcut before." Loni commented.

"We never tried to get to Grandpa's place by bike before. We usually drove there." Luke answered. "Now keep it down, we need to concentrate on-" he started to say as they barreled through some bushes, and up in the air, right alongside Lane and Loni. The three brothers and Lincoln slowly look down, noticing they were at the top of a very steep hill, nearly fifteen feet high. Levi, Lars, Leif and Lexx come to stop just short of falling off.

"It seems I have miscalculated…" Levi said nervously.

"Bro..you are the dumbest genius evEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" Luke, Lane, and Lincoln all started screaming as gravity finally took hold and caused them all to fall. Loni, on the other hand, was laughing.

"Wheeeeeeeee!" He cheered, their three bikes headed down the hill at speeds usually thought impossible for bikes.

"This is not a fun thing, Loni!" Lincoln yelled.

"Someone got the 'drop' on us! Hahaha!" Lane jested. Lincoln wanted to yell at him, but he knew that was his defense mechanism in this case, so he refrained.

"This is bad…" Levi said, watching as their brothers and Lincoln descended at an alarming rate. "Not only will they reach terminal velocity in a matter of seconds but there appears to be…" he was quiet for a second as he looked closer. "Yes...there is a ditch at the bottom. Hitting that ditch will propel them off their bikes and send them skidding across the pavement. It'd be like sliding across a forty foot cheese grater…"

"Thanks for that image, boy genius…" Lexx groaned.

"What are we gonna do!?" Leif asked, panic stricken.

"We try and find another way down...maybe we can help them when they reach the bottom." Levi replied. Lacking an option, the younger boys start to find another way down.

"Open to options at this point, dudes!" Luke yelled in a panic. Lincoln's head was darting about, looking for something that could help them. He noticed a sizable rock near the bottom of the hill. It was angled just so…could they use it? Well, it's either that or slam into the ditch.

"Guys! Aim for that rock!" Lincoln instructed.

"Are you crazy!? We hit that rock, it'll be our tomb'stone'!" Lane yelled.

"Trust me!" Lincoln replied loudly. The three brothers weren't convinced, but lacked any better ideas, so they followed along. They turn their bikes toward the slanted stone. "Ok! When I give the signal, pop a wheelie!"

"I hope you know what you're doing, bro!" Luke said loudly. "Or we're taking the stairway to heaven!" Lincoln was quiet, very focused. He had to get this just right or this would be all for naught.

"Ready….now!" He screams, the three brothers raising the front wheels of their bikes just as they reach the rock. Fortunately, not only did their bike slow down a little, but they were able to use the slab as a makeshift ramp. They were propelled into the air, clearing the ditch easily.

"Whoo hoo!" Loni cheered, his brothers and Lincoln actually cheering along with him. The landing was kind of rough, because they were going quite fast, but the worse they got was a sore rear and some rattled bones.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Luke yelled, throwing up the devil horns as he laughed.

"Quick thinking, Alt Linc." Lane complimented. "Where did you learn that?"

"The Lynn of my world showed me that." He explained. "Never tried it myself, but I've seen her do it enough to understand the idea behind it."

"Are you guys insane!?" Came the voice of Ronnie Anne, climbing out of the ditch, glaring at the four boys angrily.

"Where'd you come from?" Loni asked, confused.

"I slid down the hill after you lunatics." She said, placing her skateboard back on the pavement. "What were you thinking!?"

"It wasn't their fault." Lincoln said. "Levi just made a mistake, and we had to do something to keep ourselves from getting hurt...well, more seriously hurt."

"Well….I guess...but you're all still crazy." Needing to wait for the younger siblings, the group decide to rest and wait. As they haven't had breakfast, they all headed to a nearby cafe for a bite to eat, a cup of coffee, and to plan their next move.

"Ok. We're only around ten minutes away from Grandpa's." Luke said quietly, drinking in some coffee. "Alt bro, I've been thinking about it and I think you should hang back."

"Wha-?" Ronnie Anne started to ask, a forkful of pancakes halfway to her lips, but Lane interrupted her.

"Hold up there. Luke may have a point. If our Lincoln visited him earlier, bringing Alt Lincoln may cause some confusion and I wouldn't want to subject our grandfather to that kind of emotional rollercoaster." Ronnie Anne's indignation faded quickly at Lane's explanation.

"You're probably right. Besides, we might get lucky and your Lincoln decided to stay there." Lincoln said, nibbling on his scrambled eggs. Part way through their breakfast, the younger brothers had finally arrived, Luke buying them something to eat as well. Having finished and paid for their meals first, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne both stepped out of the cafe to wait for the Loud brothers to finish.

"You know...sometimes they surprise me." The young latina admitted, turning to face her friend from another world.

"You and me both." Lincoln agreed. "Though I've only known them for a little while, and the last time I saw them, it wasn't the best of encounters."

"You've come here before?"

"Yeah. I wanted to know what it was like to live with ten brothers instead of ten sisters, so my sister Lisa invented this watch to let me travel to this dimension." Lincoln explained. "Admittedly, the first half a day was actually cool...but then they just started bullying me."

"Lincoln...our Lincoln...told me some of the same things. Some days were nice, some days filled with rough housing, some misery."

"Speaking of...what is the Lincoln of this world like?" The young man asked. "You mentioned a few differences before…" Ronnie Anne giggles a bit.

"Well, I wasn't exactly lying. There are a few differences between you two. Our Lincoln is a bit more muscular than you, for starters."

"Probably from taking, and possibly giving, a beating from so many brothers so often. Plus you." She gave him a half amused frown and playfully punched him in the arm.

"But he isn't as quick as you. I've never seen him dodge like you had. Then again, he probably takes it just to prove he can. Also, he's not quite the diplomat you are. I don't think he could have, or perhaps would have, kept me from boxing your brothers' ears. Figuratively and possibly literally."

"He probably would have helped." Lincoln commented, making the two of them laugh.

"I bet he would. Helping has always been his thing." Ronnie Anne said. "But enough about you two. Is there a version of me where you came from?" Lincoln nods in reply. "What's she like?"

"A lot like you, really." He told her. "She doesn't take any flak from anyone. And strong...she could probably go toe to toe with Lynn from my world." Ronnie Anne could feel her cheeks turn a soft red as she listened. "But underneath all that, she is a caring person and as good a friend as any guy could ask for. Yeah, she could be kinda rough and messes with me all the time, but that's what I lo-like about her." Now it was his turn to blush as she laughed at his stumble of words.

"Just like our Lincoln, you're kind of a goof. But I lo-like that about him." She teased him, making him blush even more.

"Are we interrupting?" Loni asked as the brothers started piling out of the diner.

"Yes...but we need to get going anyway." Lincoln said.

"You're riding with me this time, Alt Lame-o." Ronnie Anne said, re equipping her helmet. Right when Lane, Lexx, and Leif were about to say something, she added. "Just so these knuckleheads don't get you hurt with their crazy plans again."

"She is DEFINITELY a keeper." Lane whispered to Luke, who nodded in reply. Ronnie quickly hopped onto her board and helped Lincoln aboard as well.

"Hold on tight, other Lincoln. Don't want you to take a spill." Lincoln's face turned bright red once more as he put his arms around Ronnie Anne, bringing a blush to her face as well. The Loud Brothers smirk to one another, but opt to leave them be this time. They start cycling off, followed by Ronnie Anne and Lincoln. As Luke expected, it took them about ten minutes to arrive at their grandfather's retirement home.

"Ok. Just like we planned, we'll go on in and find out what grandpa knows about our Lincoln. You go hide in those bushes, Alt Lincoln, so he doesn't see you." Luke said. "We'll try not to be long."

"I'll stay with him." Ronnie Anne offered.

"That would probably be best. Your presence, or lack thereof, would probably have no bearing on the outcome of this chat, and our ever helpful brother from another world would no doubt enjoy a little company while we speak to grandfather." The group all nodded in unison as they split up: the two best friends ducking behind a row of bushes, while the seven brothers made their way to the front door and into the lobby. To their immense fortune, their grandfather, Albert, was in the lobby at the time.

"Grandpa!" Lexx, Leif, and Loni all called out, running over to give their grandfather a big hug.

"Eh. What the hey. Grandpa!" Levi cheered, following suite. Luke, Lane and Lars walked over to join them, chuckling a bit.

"Hahaha. Would you look at that? A pack of my favorite grandkids. How ya doing? What brings you out here at this time of the morning? And where's there rest of ya?"

"To answer your first question….alright, I guess." Loni responded, his smile fading. Albert's own smile disappeared at this sight; he could tell something was up.

"As for why we are here and where our other brothers are….I think it is best you sit down for this one, cherished elder." Levi said, taking his grandpa by the hand and leading him over to the nearest stool.

"What's the matter, boys?" He asked in concern. However, a thought hit him as he noticed one person in particular was missing. "Ooooh…..is this about when Lincoln was here earlier?"

"So he was here….that's three for three…" Levi quietly noted to himself.

"Yeah. The little dude decided to say bye bye bye to the Loud House, and we're trying to find him and bring him home." Luke explained. Albert sighed, looking to the floor.

"You know...I had a feeling something was eating that boy when he was here. He wouldn't say what though. I was kinda hoping he would have taken his old Pop Pop's advice...but it looks like he takes more after his mother and I than I thought. Once we get an idea in our heads, there's no getting rid of it, good, bad or otherwise."

"Oh, don't blame yourself, Grandpa." Loni said, patting Albert on the shoulder. "It's our fault that Lin-"

"Hold the phone a moment." Levi interjected. "Grandfather, did you once run away from as well?"

"Not necessarily. I did leave home at an early age to seek my fortune, but it wasn't really running away, per se. You see, it was a pretty tough time. Money was tight, so I wanted to try and do my part. Think I was about your age, Luke...memory is a little fuzzy there...but the point is if I succeeded, I could help the family out. If I failed...well, at least there'd be one less mouth to feed…."

"Did you succeed, grandpa?" Loni asked, getting a few annoyed looks from his brothers.

"No, Loni. We've been talking to a ghost this whole time." Lane replied sarcastically. Luke, Lexx, Leif, and even Albert all got a laugh out of that comment. Levi and Lars simply snickered.

"That would be awesome though." Lars commented with a small smile.

"Did you tell Lincoln this story?" Levi inquired.

"Sure did, last time he came to visit. We had gotten to the part when I joined the Air Force when he had to go home though. Always during the best part, eh?" He chuckled a bit.

"And during his visit earlier, did he make any mention of where he was planning to go?"

"Can't say he did...but he did ask where I would go if I wanted to make it on my own, and I told him that anyone who could make it in the big city could...oooo, I shouldn't have told him that, should I?" The brothers looked more worried than ever as they met each others' gaze.

"How long ago did he leave?" Leif asked, wringing his hands together.

"I'd say….around twenty minutes ago…."

"Then we may have a chance. Travelling on foot, it will take him days to reach the city. We can catch up to him easily on our…" Levi started to say, but his thought was interrupted by his grandfather.

"...actually, he hailed a cab when he left."

"Dang it…" All seven brothers grumbled at once.

"Wait...where'd he get the money to pay for a cab ride all the way to the city?" Lexx inquired. The four year old boy genius pulled an abacus out of nowhere and started to do some calculations.

"Given his average allowance, plus the money he had stashed away in that old hollowed out textbook he thinks no one knows about…if my math is right (and it always is), he would only be able to pay for the fare about half way there."

"Still, no way our rides can catch a taxi, dudes…"

"What if we had Vanzilla?" Loni asked, pointing toward the glass doors leading outside. To their shock, the old family van was parked right outside, right behind the bushes.

"What's Vanzilla doing…...oh no…" Levi's pupils shrank as realization hit him like he suspected his eldest brothers' fist was about to.

Moments earlier, back outside, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were patiently waiting for the boys to return. The sun was rising higher in the sky and, unfortunately for them, it was shining on their side of the shrubbery, and it was quite warm. Ronnie Anne had pulled off her trademark hoodie and wrapped the arms around her waist like a belt, revealing a white t shirt underneath. "Figures it would be unseasonably warm today…" She grumbled.

"Hopefully, they'll be out soon…" Lincoln said as he wiped his forehead with one hand. Ronnie Anne peeked over the bushes and noticed a vending machine not far from the front door.

"I'm going for a drink run. Want anything?" She asked. Lincoln thought for a moment, then handed her a dollar bill.

"A soda, please. Thanks." He said, his friend nodding and taking the dollar before running toward the machine. Lincoln was so focused on watching her and the front door that he didn't hear a vehicle pull up behind him in the parking lot. Nor did he hear the car door open. But he certainly felt it when a pair of hands grabbed him from behind. He was forcefully turned around to look into the fuming face of Loki, who looked like he was on the warpath.

"You're dead meat, twerp…."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: For those curious about the quick updates, there are two reasons for them. I have a lot of extra free time on my hands (hopefully won't last too long) and because I already have the story written completely. I had written them originally for DeviantArt, this series and my previous stories. All I needed to do was fix them up, correct a few mistakes, and fill in a few holes in the story.**

Chapter 3

"Do you have ANY idea how much trouble I got in thanks to you!? Or how much trouble you're in, you little cockroach!?" Loki yelled as he shook Lincoln by the collar. "Well, I hope you had your fun, because it ends now! You're coming home, but not until after I teach you a lesson!"

"Wait! Loki! Wrong Lincoln! Remember!?" A panicked Lincoln pleaded, holding up the arm with the dimensional travel watch still on it. He glances at it and mutters a few swears under his breath.

"Damn…I was really looking forward to reducing your face to pudding...although...if we take this little annoyance away…" he said with a sinister grin, pulling the device from his wrist. "...who's gonna know you aren't our Lincoln? I still think using you as a substitute is a good idea."

"Give that back!" The eleven year boy struggled to free himself, but Loki was way too strong for him.

"Let's see you get it!" He taunted, holding the watch well out of his reach. He laughed as Lincoln stretched his arms to as far as they could go, but they couldn't even come close. He wasn't laughing, however, when a full can of soda struck him in the side of the head. He dropped Lincoln and stumbled to the side, rubbing the place he was hit as he glared over at a furious Ronnie Anne.

"Lay another hand on him, and I'll…"

"You'll what!?" Loki snapped. Before she could respond, Loni dove through the shrubs out of nowhere and tackled his older brother to the ground. The shock of this sudden attack was enough to give the dull witted brother a chance to pin Loki to the grass. However, Loki had reinforcements. Leaping from a back window of Vanzilla, Lynn Jr body slammed Loni, effectively turning the tables. Before Ronnie Anne could join in, in rushed Luke, Lexx, Lane, Leif and Lars, turning the fight into an all out brawl and kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust. Finally, Levi strolled over, waiting patiently beside the rumble before reaching in and relieving Loki of the dimensional portal device.

"I believe this belongs to you." He said as he returned it to Lincoln.

"Thanks…" Lincoln replied, still pretty shell shocked about what just happened. Levi simply nodded before turning to the battling brothers and whistling. All eight brothers stopped what they were doing: Loki had Lane in a head lock while trying to kick Lexx off his leg and get Leif off his back, while Lynn had Loni in an arm lock, with Luke and Lars trying to pull him off.

"Elder siblings, while this is no doubt making some of you feel better, it is an overall pointless endeavor. Fighting among ourselves will only increase the gap between us and Lincoln."

"I keep telling you! Let's just sub this Lincoln!" Loki shouted.

"Loki...that will not work." Levi explained slowly, rubbing his forehead a little. "Ronnie Anne was able to identify that alternate Lincoln was not ours. His physiology and mannerisms are different, if mostly subtly. If his closest….friend..." A moments glare from Ronnie made him think twice about saying girlfriend. "...could easily spot that, our parents would be able to spot it in an instant."

"Ronnie Anne only knows because of how frequently the two lock lips…" Loki spat.

"We/They do not lock lips!" Both Ronnie and Lincoln screamed together.

"Wait...how do you know, Other Linc?" Leif asked.

"Well...I don't. But I know I don't with the Ronnie Anne from my universe, so I think it's safe to say this Lincoln doesn't either."

"You're all missing out." Lane said. "And speaking of out, can you let go, Loki?"

"Why should I? I got in trouble with Mom, Dad and Bebe because of all of you….especially you, twerp!"

"What!?" An aghast Lincoln asked.

"You guys ratted me out to Bebe and she called our folks! And after they chewed me out and demanded I find our little wimp, Bebe read me the riot act!"

"That was your own fault!" Lincoln responded angrily. "You behavior was part of what drove your Lincoln away, your stubbornness led you to believe he was just hiding when even the simplest among us could read the writing on the wall...no offense intended, Loni."

"Don't worry about it, little guy. I'm not the sharpest knife in the crayon box and I know it."

"...and if you had just come with us, we could have taken Vanzilla and probably caught up with your Lincoln at this point!"

"Well, I don't see you finding him, Mr Lincoln Expert!"

"Actually, we do have a clue pertaining to his current objective." Levi pointed out. "However, we will be in need of vehicular assistance in order to catch him, as he has enlisted a taxi in order to reach his destination."

"You're sure about that?"

"I'd say I'm 83% positive."

"Good enough for me. Let's move." Loki said, letting Lane go. The brothers start to head toward the van, with Lincoln and Ronnie Anne taking up the rear. They were about to board when Loki stopped them. "Hold it! You two aren't coming."

"Like fun we're not…" The angry young lady retaliated.

"You will just get in the way…" Loki said derisively, pointing at her. Then he pointed at Lincoln "And you….you can just go home. You're not wanted or needed here."

"Loki, are you nuts!?" Leif asked incredulously. "We still gotta find our Lincoln."

"We know where to look now. What do we need him for?"

"My job isn't done here, Loki." Lincoln answered sternly. "I was asked to come here, find your brother and bring him home. You may know where he might be, but what about bringing him home? What are you going to do? Beat him into submission and drag him home?" Loki was silent, not even looking at him. "That will only work temporarily. He'll just up and leave again. If anything, you need us more than ever. The two of us know him the best."

"If I let you two come, will you shut up?" Loki asked in quiet fury. Lincoln simply nodded.

"I won't…" Ronnie Anne said. The oldest brother growled, but stepped aside to let them in anyway.

If the initial ride to find Lincoln was awkwardly silence, the silence in Vanzilla was outright uncomfortable. With Loki in a wrathful mood, none of his brothers dared to speak and Lincoln promised not to. The only noise, apart from the old rust bucket of a van, was Lynn throwing and catching a baseball in his hand. Loni was playing around on his phone, checking his social media and texting between his brothers since talking wasn't a good idea. Lincoln, however, was staring at Loki in the driver's seat. Something Luke had told him earlier was coming back to him:

" _He's at a tough age in life. Pressures of going to college after high school, his relationship with Bebe, keeping his grades up, all the responsibilities of being the oldest...it's a heavy load to bear. And then there are the raging hormones…but you'll be learning about that soon enough yourself. My point being the guy is under a lot of stress, and we all deal with it in different ways...even if they aren't the best."_

Was that the cause of his anger? All this unnecessary hostility? Intense stress and these hormones he mentioned? And his aggression toward their Lincoln...is that linked as well? Or did Lincoln do something to him? He found it hard to believe that Loki and Lincoln truly hated each other. They were brothers and, in his mind, the idea of siblings just hating each other was hardly conceivable. Maybe...just maybe he was just the easiest scapegoat. Their Lincoln was the middle child, like him. Not too young that he would get in extra trouble, but not old enough to be a threat to him. This was all speculation, of course. Without getting to know him better, he wouldn't be able to tell, and Loki wasn't about to open up. So here he was, trying to figuratively get into Loki's head.

"What are you looking at, twerp!?" Loki yelled, seeing Lincoln through the rear view. He hastily looks away. "That's what I thought. Keep your stinking eyes to yourself…." Lincoln sighed quietly, looking up at Ronnie Anne, who was glaring at the driver of the van. Lexx leaned over the seat behind Lincoln and tapped him on the shoulder. Upon getting his attention, he handed Lincoln his cell phone. Curious, the other dimensional traveller looked at the message on the screen.

Lexx, hand him your phone. - Luke

Dude, what was that about? - Luke

I was thinking about what you said earlier. About the stress Loki's been under. I want to better understand what's going on with him. However, even if I could talk, he probably wouldn't answer. - Linc

Yeah. The guy keeps his other emotions well buried. - Lars

All except his anger. Has he ever shown the same hostility to you guys that he has shown lately toward your Lincoln? - Linc

There was a general response of no to that, except…

Only when I do or say something extra stupid. - Loni

So he is specifically targeting Lincoln!? - RA

How'd you get my number!? - Lexx

Nevermind ;p - RA

Did Lincoln do anything to upset Loki lately? - Linc

Nothing serious. Just stuff that would be considered an annoyance at worst. - Levi

I think I'm getting an idea of what's going on here. Luke tells me that he's been under a lot of stress lately, as well as something about raging hormones… - Linc

That could certainly be a factor. Testosterone in high quantities can easily cause excessive aggression and acts of temper. - Levi

And unlike a lot of you guys, I don't really see him having an outlet for his anger. I mean, Lynn has his sports, Luke can rock his rage away and Lane has his practical jokes - Linc

You know it - Luke

A good laugh can do wonders - Lane

Loki, I don't think he does...unless he plays golf like Lori. But I've seen her play. That game is FAR from relaxing. - Linc

More like BOOOOORING! - Leif

I see where you are going with this. With no easy outlet for his anger, he lashes out - Loni

Exactly. And because your Lincoln is the middle child: not young enough to be protected and not old enough to effectively retaliate, he's the easiest target. - Linc

A pretty scummy reason for it - RA

That's a real shame. Back in the day, the two of them were inseparable - Loni

Really? - RA

Sure. Have a look at these - Loni

What followed was a series of pictures, each taken during Lincoln's younger days. They included Lincoln and Loki reading comics together, playing baseball with Lynn Jr and Sr, Loki showing Lincoln how to ride his bike and playing with little army men. There was even one where Loki got his first phone for his 13th birthday from Lincoln.

Awwwww. Look at the little Lame-o - RA

It sure looks like they had a pretty good relationship once upon a time...what happened? - Linc

That last text was followed by silence. In truth, no one really knew the answer to that question, except for the fact Loki grew up. Lars sighs as he gazed out the window, watching as endless rows of trees that lined the highway sped by. They were many hours into the drive now and still had about twenty minutes to go to reach the big city. The sun was starting to set .The goth boy continued to stare out at the woods until he suddenly straightened up, his gaze becoming more intense. "Stop the car."

"What?"

"I said stop the car." Lars said more urgently.

"What's the matter, bro?" Lynn asked.

"He's out there." Lars said, pointing into the forest.

"What!?" Exclaimed everyone in the car.

"He's out there…and….he's in trouble…."

Several minutes earlier, an old, beat up taxi pulled over to the side of the highway. One of the back side doors opened and Lincoln Loud slowly emerged, looking out at the woods with a strange combination of fear and determination on his face, one hand on the strap of his backpack.

"This is as far as you go with what you got kid. Dunno why you want to be out this way, but I couldn't care as long as I get my lettuce." he held out his hand, Lincoln handing him some money. "Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it." The cabbie laughed as he drove off.

'Jokes on you. Wasn't even all my money.' The white haired lad from this world thought. 'Well, no turning back now. It's do or...well, let's just do this.' he continued to ponder, starting to walk into the forest. He only intended to go deep enough into the woods to keep out of sight from the highway, but he could still barely see it so he had something to navigate by. No doubt his family would be looking for him by now, and he had no intention of being found by them. But they were probably looking all over Royal Woods for him. He had time to reach his destination and then some, or so he thought. He started to walk parallel to the road, with only the soft blowing of the wind breaking up the monotonous silence. 'Well, this is it. On my own. Ready to show the world what Lincoln Loud is made of.' He thought. 'Just need to get to the city, find myself a place to stay, and…' his train of thought was derailed by the sound of rustling in the undergrowth behind him. He turned his head, wondering who or what was there. It couldn't be his brothers, could it? He cautiously leaned down and grabbed a thick fallen branch, wielding it like a club.

"W...who's there!?" He demanded. His question was answered as a snarling gray wolf emerged from the brush. On one hand, he was relieved. On the other, it was still a vicious wolf. "Stay back!" He ordered, pointing his makeshift weapon at the wolf. It was just one after all. He could handle one. But unfortunately for him, there is rarely ever one wolf. Another two joined the first, then another pair. Now it was five against one. Lincoln's arm trembled as he reached into his backpack. "Uh...good dogs...I have some jerky here…" he said nervously, tossing the little packets of jerky over their heads. The pack ran right after them, giving the clever lad a chance to make tracks in the opposite direction. The dried meat only distracted the wolves for a few seconds, and the wild canines were hot in his tail in no time. Living with his brothers, Lynn especially, Lincoln knew how to run and fast. However, no matter how fast he was, the pack was faster and knew the terrain much better than he did. One of the wolves had caught up to him in no time and clamped its jaw into his heel. Fortunately, his sneaker protected him. Unfortunately, it caused him to trip and fall in his front. As the rest of the pack descended upon him, he swung the branch to defend himself. The wolves had enough sense to stay back from the assault, but the one holding his ankle took a direct hit. With a yelp, it was knocked aside, freeing Lincoln. The branch had snapped on impact, leaving Lincoln helpless as the now furious beasts growled at him. He gulped, thinking 'maybe this wasn't a good idea…' Lincoln covered his face with one arm, bracing himself for the upcoming attack. He waited, shaking like a leaf. However, nothing seemed to be happening. The wolves were still there; he could hear them. So why weren't they attacking? He slowly moved his arm for a look and what he saw shocked him. Standing before him, facing the entire pack, his arms held out to either side, was Lars. Somehow, he had gotten between the prone Lincoln and the wild animals. His sudden appearance surprised the wolves as well. They just stood there, staring at him. Lars glared back at them through his hair, not a trace of fear anywhere on him.

"Beat it." He growled at them. Despite his size and being only 8, the wolves seemed very intimidated by him. The wild currs whimpered and slunk away back into the deeper part of the forest.

"L...Lars?" Lincoln stammered. His spooky brother turned around, kneeling down to look at him.

"Are you alright, Lincoln?" He asked in a monotone voice. Lincoln gave a small nod, his heart still racing.

"How….how did you find me…?"

"The spirits, Lincoln. They told me you were in trouble and led us right to you."

"U….us?" Just then, Luke, Loni, Leif, Lane, Lexx, Lynn and Levi finally arrived on the scene.

"Lars! Is Lincoln alright?" Loni asked, catching his breath.

"He is fine. The wolves are gone."

"You got rid of a bunch of wolves?" Lynn asked in surprise.

"I have a connection with all creatures of the night." Lars explained. "Wolves included." While Lars was speaking to his brothers, their Lincoln was slowly backing away from them. He was thinking he could slip away while they were distracted. Just as he tried to run, he ran into something, or more accurately, someone. He looked up and was stunned at what he saw. Standing before him….was another Lincoln Loud.

"It's alright, Lincoln." The other one had said. "They won't hurt you." Lincoln just blinked three times before he passed out.

"What did you do to him!?" Came a familiar female voice.

"Nothing. He just took one look at Alt Lincoln and he fainted." Came another, even more familiar male monotone voice.

"I suppose with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the shock of seeing another one of himself was too much for him. He should be recovering sometime soon."

"Looks like he's coming to...give him room." The female voice said again. Lincoln groaned as his eyes slowly started to open. His vision was blurry at first, but soon the image of a concerned Ronnie Anne came onto focus.

"Ronnie Anne…?" He asked weakly.

"You alright there, Lame-o?"

"Yeah….had the most messed up dream….there was two of me…"

"Dear brother, as much as it pains me to burst your bubble, that was no dream." Lincoln sat bolt upright in the grass, turning toward Levi, who was standing by alternate Lincoln, who gave a little wave. "Long story short, this is Lincoln Loud from another dimension."

"You...brought another Lincoln...here?"

"We brought him here to help find you, little bro." Luke explained, getting a glare from Lincoln.

"I didn't want to be found…"

"We got that feeling, Lincoln. And most of us understand why." Alternate Lincoln said, walking over and kneeling beside him, opposite their friend. "But that's part of the reason they're here."

"He's right, Lincoln." Loni said. "Except for Lars and Levi, we all messed up and we wanted to tell you how sorry we are. And I guess I'll start. Sorry for taking your breakfast, Lincoln. I totally forgot I hadn't even made my breakfast…"

"And I'm sorry for the bike thing…." Leif said, hurrying over to give his Lincoln a hug, a move that nearly caused him to push his younger brother away.

"Same here...as funny as it was, it wasn't right." Lane admitted.

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you at school, little bro. I didn't mean to, I swear. I just wanted to spook you a bit, not make you soil yourself." Luke apologized.

"My brother, I humbly apologize for humiliating you for the sake of praise from fans." As Lexx apologized in his usual dramatic way, he fell to one knee and removed his crown, bowing his head slightly. Lincoln looked carefully at each of his brothers, still wearing a deep frown. He was still angry at his brothers and wasn't so willing to accept their apologies...well, not all their apologies. Loni, he knew, wasn't so bright, and he was probably the nicest of them, so it probably was an accident. And it was kinda hard to stay mad at a little kid hugging him the way Leif was. And Lexx...he never took his crown off for anyone. Luke….maybe it wasn't intentional. Lane, he wasn't so sure he was as sorry as the others...but then again, they were all out here looking for him. They even went so far as to seek help from other dimensions just to find them. But then he looked to Lynn, who hadn't said a word yet. It wasn't just him either. All brothers present, Ronnie Anne and Alternate Lincoln were looking at him.

"What?" He asked as he noticed everyone was staring at him.

"Don't you have something to say?" Alternate Lincoln inquired.

"Should I?" Lynn seemed genuinely confused.

"The Dutch Oven…" Lane whispered into his ear.

"What about it? I've given almost everyone Dutch Ovens at this point." Lynn said defensively.

"But you didn't shut them in a coffin when you did it." Lars retorted. "A nearly airtight coffin."

"So?" Almost everyone present face palmed at that reply.

"Dude, if the coffin is practically airtight and you gassed it up before shutting it, how is our little bro supposed to BREATHE?" Luke asked in outrage.

"And on that note, what do you think would happen if our brother had remained within the confines of the casket for too long?" Levi added. Lynn was silent as he thought about this. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to realize what he had almost done.

"Whoa! Holy spit!" He exclaimed, his hand slapping his forehead as realization hit him. "Linc, I'm really sorry….I didn't think…."

"Obviously…" Ronnie Anne muttered. "Is he really that dumb?"

"No." Alternate Lincoln answered quietly. "If he's anything like my sister Lynn, he just doesn't think of the consequences of his actions before he acts."

"Yeah. Jumps first to see if gravity is still on duty…" Lincoln confirmed, making Ronnie and his alternate self snicker into their hands. "Someone is missing…" he said out loud.

"Leon's back home with Mom and Dad." Loni explained.

"No, not him…."

"Hey, did you find the twerp yet, or has this been a wild spirit hunt?" came the voice of Loki not far from them. The sound of his voice caused Lincoln to leap to his feet, bracing himself for a fight. His other dimensional double and his best friend stood as well.

"The spirits don't appreciate being mocked…" Lars replied sourly.

"Whatever." The alpha of the Loud Bros grumbled as he joined the crowd, seeing their Lincoln and smirking. "Well well, the prodigal cockroach has been found. You had your fun, SnoCap, but it's time to go home."

"I'm not going anywhere." Lincoln said defiantly.

"Yes you are. Just not yet. First, you need a lesson…" Loki said, cracking his knuckles and stepping toward him. Before he could get too close, he found himself blocked by a wall of his own brothers. Not only was he surprised, but their Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were shocked as well. "W...what are you?"

"Sorry, Loki, but if we didn't let you hurt Alt Lincoln, what makes you think we'll let you hurt our Lincoln?" Loni asked, his arms crossed in front of him.

"We shall not be moved." Luke said, clenching his fists.

"You're all protecting the wimp!? Even you, Lynn?" Loki asked incredulously. The sporty brother nodded.

"I did not expect this…" Lincoln whispered.

"I did." Alt Lincoln said quietly with a smile.

"Loki, we wish to see our brother return home as much as anyone else." Levi said, stepping forward as the acting diplomat. "But our other dimensional brother is absolutely correct. We cannot force him to go, or history will repeat itself. We need to remedy the problems that caused him to run away in the first place, and make amends for our wrongdoings."

"Our wrongdoings!? What about him!? Don't act like that little snotrag is perfect!" Loki snapped, gesturing aggressively at their Lincoln.

"You're right. I'm not perfect." Lincoln admitted.

"Finally! Some hint of brains…"

"...but at least I'm trying. I may mess up, but I do what I can to apologize and make up for my mistakes. That's more than I can say for you!"

"Oh, boo hoo. I hurt widdle Winky's feelings by flushing his head in the John."

"It isn't just the swirly, Loki! It's why you did it, and why you do a lot of things!" Lincoln yelled.

"Because you deserve it!" Loki bellowed back, trying to force his way past his brothers.

"If memory serves me, you said you gave him the swirly because you thought it was funny." Alternate Lincoln commented.

"Stay out of it!"

"That's exactly what I mean! You're hurting me in every possible way for no good reason whatsoever!"

"What about what you did to me!? You got me in serious trouble with our parents and Bebe because of your stupidity!"

"IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT!" Both Lincolns and Ronnie Anne all shouted at once. Loki was red faced with rage, stepping back from the human wall as if he were prepared to ram it. But as he stepped back, he took a deep breath, and then smiled.

"Whoa...let's all just step back a minute. This is kind of a volatile situation. Emotions are high, we're all tired and we clearly need to take a little time to chill. So here's what I suggest: we camp out here tonight, let things cool down, and we can properly discuss it in the morning. I'll message Mom and Dad and tell them we found you, but it's too late to head back, so we found a place to stay. What do you say?" Lincoln narrows his eyes at Loki, clearly suspicious. The Lincoln from another world also had a feeling something was up. He was acting too calm and nice.

"Sweet! A camping trip!" Loni declared.

"I do agree a chance to calm the tension would be most beneficial to a peaceful resolution." Levi said with a nod.

"Do...you think the wolves will return?" Lexx asked fearfully.

"I doubt it." Lars replied.

"Still, some of us should probably camp out in Vanzilla." Loki said. "The little kids, Loni, Lincoln…"

"I'll sleep out here." Lincoln interrupted him, his mistrust clear.

"Ok. Suit yourself, little bro. I guess you two are sticking with him too?" Loki pointed toward Bebe's sister and Lincoln's double, who nodded in confirmation. "That's cool. We have enough sleeping bags. Let's just get a little closer to the car and we can get them unpacked."

Very few of the assembled children and teens would say they trusted Loki at all, least of all the Lincolns and Ronnie Anne, but they couldn't deny that he had a point: tensions were at an all time high. If he was being honest, this could be a chance to ease those tensions and maybe rebuild some bridges. If he wasn't...well, Alternate Lincoln's mind was already working on a plan just in case. They set up a campfire a stone's throw from where Vanzilla was parked on the shoulder of the highway, and had what few snacks and provisions Loki, Lynn and Lincoln had brought with them for dinner. Not exactly ideal, but far better than nothing. The whole time, their Lincoln kept well away from Loki, keeping the campfire between him and his oldest brother. Loki didn't seem bothered by this; in fact, he hardly seemed angry at all, joking around with the other brothers. He didn't even take an opportunity to mess with his snow haired bro. While Lincoln was relaxing a little, he wasn't getting complacent around Loki. He was, however, getting tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night and he had come a long way. He said good night to his brothers and friend before he curled up in his sleeping bag. Over time, each of the boys decided to turn in, until the last ones awake were Ronnie Anne and Alternate Lincoln. Loki had turned in about an hour ago, sleeping in the front passenger's seat.

"I wonder who Loki thinks he's kidding…." The tired young Latina asked, glaring at the sleeping teen. "He hasn't changed...he isn't sorry…"

"I doubt he has too...but I had my doubts about the other guys too...and they proved me wrong. He deserves the same chance to prove himself." The Lincoln from another world explained before a yawn escaped him.

"...you're too nice...you know that, don't you?"

"All too well." He answered her with a soft smile.

"Well, we should probably get some sleep." Ronnie Anne said as she rubbed her eyes. "If he does decide to pull anything, we should be well rested."

"Yeah. Good night, Ronnie Anne."

"G'night, Alt Lame-o." She replied, watching him as he laid his head down, then she looked over at her Lincoln. She smiled at how peaceful he looked in his sleep. She glanced around for a moment to make sure no one was looking, then leaned over to give him a soft peck on the cheek, whispering "Good night, Lincoln". The middle son blushed, bringing a blush to her cheeks as well. She curled up in her sleeping back and was soon off to Dreamland. However, as soon as she was asleep, Loki opened up his eyes and peeked into the side mirror. He smirked as he saw they were all asleep, just like he had hoped. He was about to open the car door when he saw the other Lincoln stir and sit up. Hastily, he laid back down and played possum. The sudden movement caught the attention of the boy from another dimension, causing him to frown lightly. He waited a moment, then laid back on the grass, looking at his doppleganger.

Loki knew he had to be careful at this point. One slip and his job would be that much more difficult. He gave his otherworldly brother an hour to fall back asleep before he decided to test the water again. He carefully snuck out of Vanzilla and over to the three sleeping eleven year olds. They were fast asleep. Perfect. Loki set his plan into motion, picking up Lincoln's sleeping back and carrying it and him into the van, buckling him into one of the furthest back seats. He then went back for Ronnie Anne, putting her in the seat next to him. Now for the hard part: his brothers. Lynn wasn't so hard to get into the van, but Luke was heavier than them and Lane was a light sleeper. By some miracle, however, he managed to load them in without them stirring. He sighs and grins to himself, pleased with his work. He looked back to the sleeping bag that held Alternate Lincoln, thinking for a moment, then shrugged. 'Eh. He has his own way to get home. He can have fun with that.' he thought, quietly moving to the driver's side door and climbing in. He tried to start the car quietly (no easy feat), then sped off down the road, headed for home.

An hour into the trip, Vanzilla's poor suspension and the bumpy roads were enough to shake a few of the Loud Brothers awake: Lane, Lars and Levi. "*Yawn* What's all the shakin, bacon?" Lane asked groggily.

"...Gentlemen…" Levi started, then he looked back to see Ronnie Anne starting to stir in the backseat. "...and Ronnie….we're in a moving vehicle."

"What!?" This fact snapped the family joker awake, and his outburst caused a few more brothers to wake up. "Loki!? What gives!?"

"We're going home." Loki responded simply, looking rather proud of himself.

"But what about Lincoln?" Lars asked.

"He's in the backseat, right where I put him." All eyes turned to the tuft of white hair sticking out of the sleeping bag by Ronnie Anne.

"I should have known you would have pulled this kind of stunt…" The young lady growled as she started to free herself from her sleeping bag. Then she noticed someone missing. "Wait! Where's Alternate Lincoln!?"

"I left him." Loki answered simply. "The scrawny dweeb has his own way to get home. He'll be fine."

"Dick move, bro…" Luke grumbled, glaring at his older brother in a disapproving way.

"What? His job is done." Loki said, trying (and failing) to act all innocent and justify his actions.

"Turn this car around!" Ronnie Anne demanded.

"No can do. Already sent Mom and Dad a text saying we're on our way back." Loki said with a smirk, ignoring the glares he was getting. A mutiny looked like it was about to break out at any second, but before anyone could do anything, they all heard a slow, clapping sound. At first, they thought it was Vanzilla, but a quick look around told a different story. It was coming from Lincoln's sleeping bag. He unzipped his bag and dug himself out up to her waist, smirking a bit himself.

"Very clever, Loki. Quite devious of you, waiting till we all fell asleep, then load us all on the car and drive off like a bat out of Hades." He complimented Loki.

"Heh. Yeah, that was pretty brilliant."

"It was. It was. Just too bad for you…" He raised his arm, showing everyone in the van the device on his wrist. "...you got the wrong Lincoln. Again."


	4. Chapter 4

Author Notes: I know I said I had the story finished already, and I had. However, reading some of the comments and reading it over again, I realized that I didn't care much for how it ended (though a few minor edits helped there) and that there was something that didn't make a lot of sense in my eyes in this chapter. I'll elaborate on that later to avoid spoilers. However, between the number of stories I'm currently working on and a mental block toward editing this chapter, I suspected it would be too long before I could get around to fixing it. Therefore, I decided to roll with it and hope for the best. Apologies in advance.

Chapter 4

Loki slammed on the brakes, causing everyone in the vehicle to lurch forward. He puts the van in park, then glares back at Alternate Lincoln. "What!?"

"I noticed you faking sleep in Vanzilla and smelled a rat." The snow haired boy from another world explained. "So I switched sleeping bags with your Lincoln, knowing you still couldn't tell us apart and were probably relying on which bag we were in to identify us."

"But...how did you know!?"

"You made it so obvious. Why else would you suggest we all camp out near Vanzilla AND suggest Lincoln sleep in the van? You clearly didn't change in my eyes, so the only answer was you were planning to get everyone into the car in their sleep and then drive off, effectively forcing your brother to come home."

"Remarkable deduction, Alternate Lincoln. And a rather clever countermeasure as well." The young genius complimented his other dimensional older brother.

"But that means our Lincoln…." Loni started to say.

"...is right back where Loki intended to leave me." Alternate Lincoln finished his thought for him. He turned back to look at Loki just in time to catch a cell phone right in his eye. It was Loni's phone, chucked by the eldest of the Loud kids in a fit of rage.

"YOU FREAKING….WORM!" He screamed, using every ounce of his restraint to stop himself from cursing up a storm. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU JUST DID!? I ALREADY TOLD OUR PARENTS WE WERE COMING HOME WITH LINCOLN!"

"That sounds like poor planning on your part…" The bruised lad taunted, covering his black eye. Loki hastily looked around for something else to throw.

"You brought this on yourself, dude…" Luke said angrily, interrupting his older brother's search. "Besides, your time would be better spent turning back to go get Lincoln."

"...we aren't finished, dork…" Loki threatened Alternate Lincoln, turning back to the driver's wheel. Ronnie Anne leans over to look at her friend from another world's eye.

"That looks bad…" she told him quietly.

"Totally worth it." Lincoln whispered back as Loki u turned on the highway, burning rubber down the street. "Though I hope your Lincoln will be alright until we get there."

"He'll be fine." Lane said. "He's won't have to wait long the way Loki's driving."

"Indeed. At this speed, we should reach the place we left our brother in at least twenty minutes." Levi commented, tapping on a calculator app on his phone. However, fate seemed to be conspiring against them. About ten minutes in, the car started to slow, shake, sputter, then stopped. Steam was billowing from under the hood.

"For # !& sake!" Loki screamed, slamming his hands on the dashboard in anger.

"Relax, Lok. I got this." Leif said with a grin, grabbing his toolbox. After donning his work gloves, he opened the hood and let the steam out before getting a closer look. "Hmmmm. Looks like a cracked radiator….oh, that's not good...battery got damaged too...lucky we have an extra...gonna take me at least twenty, thirty minutes to fix."

"Fine...do what you need to do, Leif." Loki grumbled. He heard the sound of seatbelts being unbuckled, causing him to turn around. His brothers, Ronnie Anne and other Lincoln were getting out of the car. "Where do you think you're going!?"

"We're going to ride on ahead and get our bro." Luke told him, grabbing his bike and guitar.

"No you're not! You're going to get your hides right back into this car and wait for Leif to finish!"

"Sorry, Loki, but we aren't leaving Linc out there for that long." Loni said, pulling his bike down from the roof.

"Loni's right. By the time Leif is finished, we should be about where we had set up camp." Levi said, hopping into the sidecar of Luke's bike. "Simply catch up with us once the repairs are complete."

"...you know what….whatever….do what you want…" The oldest of the Loud brothers grumbled. The seven brothers, Ronnie Anne, and one dimensional traveller rode off down the highway, Lincoln once more riding with Ronnie Anne.

"I'm beginning to regret this plan…" He whispered to his friend, his concern evident.

"Don't worry. Lincoln will be fine. He was tough enough to make it this far, he can last a few more minutes."

"I know…and Loki deserved to have his plot fail...but if something happens to your Lincoln…"

"Oh no!" Loni cried, getting the attention of all involved. "I forgot my phone in the van!"

"Seriously!?" Lexx glared at his dimmer older brother, riding full tilt in his little Jeep. "It'll be there when you get back. Let's focus on getting our brother back...again."

Back in Vanzilla, Loki was left to stew in his own anger while Leif performed surgery on the crippled old car. He was incredibly sore about being tricked, his brothers defying him and the car breaking down to boot. He needed some form of stress relief. He reached for his phone when he heard one vibrate behind him. He looked back and saw a dim light where Alternate Lincoln sat. 'oh yeah...Loni's phone. Hmmmm. That should be amusing.' he thought with a smirk. He climbed over the seats to the back and picked up Loni's phone. What he hoped was a message from the dizzy Loud's girlfriend was just a HeadSpace update. Loki huffed a bit and decided to check the messages for anything juicy. To his surprise, there was a group text conversation right up top from late last night. Curious, he opens it up and starts to read it.

"Let's see...they're talking about me? Figures...too chicken to say this to my face." He grumbled. "And that little prick...thinking he knows anything about me. I have plenty of ways of relieving stress. Like giving Lincoln wedgies, noogies, swirlies…." He paused for a moment as he tried to think of something else. He then shook his head to clear it. "Feh. He's still wrong. Hey...what's this?" He had gotten down to the pictures Loni had sent, starting with him and a four year old Lincoln reading comic books in the living room. "Oh yeah...I remember that…"

Flashback

"Hey, lil Linc! Come here. I wanna show you something!" A ten year old Loki called out, holding something behind his back as he stood in the living room. Lincoln toddled his way down the hall from Lynn and Lars' room and carefully descended the stairs.

"You called, Loki?" The innocent little boy asked.

"Sure did. Have a look at this." He grinned as he showed Lincoln a stack of Ace Savvy comics.

"Oooo. What are those?"

"These are Ace Savvy comics. I used to read them when I was younger." Loki explained.

"Oh...who's Ace Savvy?" Little Lincoln asked.

"Hehehe. Who's Ace Savvy, he asks." Loki chuckled. "Let me show you." He motioned his baby brother to come over to the coffee table. He laid out the comics and opened one up for him to look at it. Lincoln just stared at the colorful pictures before him on the pages, an awestruck look on his face. "Whatcha thinkin', Linkin?"

"That's my line!" Lane shouted from upstairs.

"These pictures are amazing!" Lincoln finally said. "I just wish I could read the words.."

"Still learning, huh? Here, I'll read it with you. See, in this first panel, Ace is saying Looks like you've drawn a bad hand, Card Shark!" He said, putting an arm around Lincoln's shoulder. The two of them spent the next twenty minutes reading through the comic book, Loki reading the dialogue out loud and Lincoln following along. He even tried to read a few words himself.

"Wow! That was incredible!" Lincoln said as they finished the book.

"You liked that, huh? Well, I'm glad...because they're all yours." Loki told him.

"R...Really!?"

"Yeah. Like I said, I used to collect them, but...I kinda lost interest after a while. So I thought to myself: maybe my little bro would like them. He liked that superhero movie we saw recently, and he's been trying to learn to read, so maybe he'd like them. So, what do you…?" He started to ask, but he was cut off by the four year old giving him a big hug.

"Thank you, Loki! You're the coolest big brother ever!" The young Lincoln declared.

"Awwww, thanks little dude." Loki said, grinning and ruffling his hair.

Back to the present

"Heh. Yeah. I introduced that little ingrate to Ace Savvy…" he said to himself. "The look on his face whenever we got together to read comics…" he started to remember two years after that day. Lincoln came to show him a new comic he picked up with his allowance, Musclefish. Loki had been working on his homework at the time, but curious about the new comic, he steps away a moment to read it with his little brother. He could always finish it a little later. "Come to think of it, he introduced me to Musclefish. Still love those movies." A new memory came to mind; a few years later, Lincoln asked Loki if he wanted to look at his new comic, to which he responded "I'm busy, twerp" when he was only reading a magazine. The most recent memory showed a ten year old Lincoln knocking on Loki and Loni's room door. Loki opened the door, took one look at his little brother with comic in hand and slammed the door in his face before any words were exchanged. Loki chuckled a bit at that, looking to the next image. "Hey! Here's one of me and Lynn teaching him baseball."

Flashback

"Ok, Linc…" Loki explained, wearing a catcher's mask and padding, standing beside a five year old Lincoln. Ahead of them was Lynn Junior, smirking a bit as he chewed some gum, tossing a baseball into the air. Also in front of them was their house, with slightly less damage than it does in the present. "Keep your eye on that ball, wait until it gets close enough, and if you think you can hit it, swing."

"Got it.." Lincoln replied, a little nervous.

"Get ready, bro. There's gonna be a LOT of pepper on this one." Lynn called out, grinding the ball into his hip before winding up. The white haired little boy gulped as Lynn threw the ball. He closed his eyes as he swung the bat. There was a sharp crack as the bat made contact with the ball, sending it flying.

"whoo! Way to go bro!" Loki cheered.

"That looks like a grand…" Lynn started to say, right before a crashing sound was heard, the ball going through the attic window. "...slam."

"Oops…" Lincoln gulped as he looked up at the broken window.

"Ok...lesson learned...don't bat toward the house…" Loki commented with a grimace.

Back to the present

"Dad was pretty hacked off at first, but when he heard it was Lincoln's first home run first time at bat, he was so proud of him. He even overlooked the broken window. Lynn said he showed a lot of promise in baseball. I wonder why he never pursued it?" He thought about it for a moment, as he remembered Lincoln asking Loki to play catch with him when he was seven. Loki asked him why he couldn't ask Lynn because he was on the phone. Lincoln responded that Lynn played too hard for him. "Oh yeah...Lynn was way out of his league and he didn't have anyone else to practice with. Well, if he weren't such a weenie…" He started to say, but a new vision flashed before his eyes. This time, Lincoln knocked on his door, carrying a bat and ball. He asked his oldest brother if he wanted to head out to the field and play some baseball. Loki turned him around and kicked him in the butt, sending him crashing into the wall, his bat clattering to the ground and the ball bonking him on the head. Past Loki was laughing his head off at this, but looking back on it, it made present Loki cringe a little. "Ok...that may have been a little harsh…" He looks through the pictures on the phone when he gets to the one of his 13th birthday. "Whoa. I completely forgot about this…the day Lincoln got me my first cell phone. I really wanted one, but Mom and Dad couldn't afford one and a cell plan at the time. He worked his scrawny tail off for nearly a year to buy it for me...a Jacksang Universe 2. Not top of the line, but a damn good smartphone…." He pulled out his own cell to look at it. "...I even still use Universe phones to this day...and to think it was Lincoln who made it happen…" he sighed, putting his phone away and continuing to look through the pictures. "...what did happen to us?" He started to wonder.

His trip down memory lane brought him to the time when he first taught a young Lincoln to ride a bike without training wheels, trick or treating on Halloween, playful noogies and Lincoln taking care of Loki when he was sick. He couldn't help but smile as his mind revisited these events he had almost forgotten. But things started to turn sour in a hurry. He remembered how when Lincoln fell off his bike one time and badly scraped his knee, all he did was stand there and laugh at his expense. He remembered locking Lincoln out in the rain while their parents were away, the middle Loud catching the flu as a result. He remembered having Lynn pants Lincoln in front of Ronnie Anne in the middle of Gus' Games N Grub. He remembered punching him, shoving him, extorting money and favors from him…were this a few hours ago, Loki probably would have shrugged or laughed these events off. Now, however, they felt like a slap to his face. And then, the swirly. The swirly he had given his little brother because 'he thought it would be funny'. He looks down at the floor of the van, letting Loni's phone drop from his hand. "...if it's so funny...why aren't I laughing….?" He asked himself in disgust.

"If what's so funny?" Leif asked, snapping Loki out of his mental guilt trip.

"Huh? Oh...what is it, Leif?" He asked, looking and sounding very much out of sorts.

"Do we still have emergency chewing gum in the glove box?" Loki raised an eyebrow and looks inside the glove compartment.

"Spearmint or cinnamon?"

"Cinnamon!" Leif answered excitedly, his oldest brother tossing him a stick. "Awesome. Once I get this good and sticky, I can plug the crack in the radiator, refill it with water and we can get rolling again."

"Smooth move, Leif. You're a miracle worker." Loki said, smiling a little.

"What can I say? When you got it, you got it."

Back out in the woods, Lincoln was tossing and turning in his sleep. He couldn't explain what it was, but something was making him uneasy as he attempted to rest. He started to open his eyes, seeing a few vaguely human shaped blobs standing over and around him. Was it his brothers? No...that couldn't be right. He rubbed his eyes to help clean his vision, and what he saw made him wish he hadn't. He saw seven men and one woman standing over him, all around Loki or Loni's age, maybe older. They were all wearing leather jackets with a patch depicting a curved dagger on their chests, black jeans and leather boots. The men were mostly built like boxers, with one being lean and tall. Their hair ranged from mohawks, spikes, a mullet and one shaved head. The one woman among them could be described as beautiful, yet dangerous. Unlike the others, she wore her jacket open, revealing a dark purple tube top and an incredible figure underneath. Her hair was done up in pigtails, bound with spiked scrunchies. Her face was coated with makeup: particularly midnight blue eyeshadow and blood red lipstick. "Um….hello?"

"Well, what'dya know, Kris. It lives." The tall, thin man said.

"So it seems, Dirk." The bald headed one called Kris replied with a smirk.

"A little kid so far from home….looking for someone to tuck you in?" The woman taunted.

"Hey there, Kukri. The midget looks ready to wet his pants as it is. Don't scare him more." Said a man with a dark gray mohawk, laughing.

"So, little man….got any cash?" Dirk asked, kneeling in closer to Lincoln.

"N….no." he lied, shaking like a leaf.

"No cash? That's a shame…" Kris said, shaking his head in faux sympathy. "Do you know who we are, kid? We're the Blades. One of the toughest gangs around here. You know what we do to folks what don't have money to give?"

"We bash them." The biggest of the gang said, punching one leather clad fist into his other. "We bash them till they pay, or they stop screaming...whichever comes first."

"B….but I'm only eleven…." Lincoln said meekly.

"Hey, guys. Getting an idea here." Dirk said suddenly, standing back up. "The kid can't pay? We recruit him. He's small, got a baby face, looks like he's got a bit of muscle with him. Who would suspect him of casing a place? Or we can send him through small places we can't go."

"Hmmmm. Not a bad idea, Dirk." Kukri commented with a smile. "Doesn't hurt that he's cute."

"What do you think, Blades? Who wants to play babysitter?" Kris asked with a sinister smirk. The only one to raise their hand was Kukri. "Sorry, Babe. You're out voted. Looks like the little man's gonna become a little mess." Lincoln gulped in fear as her hastily scrambled back, slipping out of his sleeping bag until he ran into a tree.

"Nothing personal, kid. Just how it works out here. Survival of the fittest." Dirk said, equipping a pair of brass knuckles.

"Say good night, baby...for the last time." Kris threatened, reaching down to grab Lincoln. Before he could touch him, a loud, piercing sound of several guitar notes being played at once stunned them all. The eight gang members turned back, seeing an angry Luke standing before them, his axe in hand and fire in his eyes.

"Back away from my little brother, or you'll be sorry." He growled at them.

"Whoa! Dudes, it's Luke Loud!" Dirk declared. "I love yer music! Autograph my knux fer me?" He asked, holding up his fists.

"Luke Loud, huh? So that makes the little man a Loud too. Guess good looks run in the family." Kukri commented with a smirk.

"Does it matter who he is!? He's a witness! Deal with him. I'll handle the squirt." Kris instructed angrily. He turns back to where Lincoln was and found he had escaped, running into the woods. "Damn! Claymore, come with me!" Kris and the largest of the men started to pursue Lincoln, while the remaining six bore down on Luke.

"...here comes the next contestant…" he muttered, standing his ground at the Blades approached him.

"It's a crying shame to lose such an awesome musician, but orders is orders…" Dirk said, right before getting nailed in the side of the head by a baseball. The resulting impact knocked him off his feet and out like a light.

"Play ball!" Lynn shouted from the darkness, hurling baseballs at the remaining goons. Kukri quickly sneaks away from her fellow gang members, thinking she was out of range. While she planned her ambush on Luke, she found herself being grabbed from behind, her arms stuck to her sides.

"Sorry, ma'am." Loni apologized as he held her tight in a big bear hug. "But I'm not letting you hurt any of my brothers."

"Let me go!" She screamed, thrashing about in his grip. However, Loni was a lot stronger than he looked. She wasn't going anywhere. Two of the remaining punks were able to get out of Lynn's barrage as they went for Luke, the rocker brother holding his guitar like a literal axe. He ducks under the first punch and slams the instrument against the back of his attacker's head. The second thug was lucky enough to get behind Luke, putting him in a headlock. He didn't hold Luke for long, though. The screech of tires got his attention as Lexx came zooming toward him, Ronnie Anne riding shotgun with a tree branch. He hardly had time to react before he got clubbed in the face by the hunk of wood. He staggers, letting go of Luke just in time for him to counter his first assailant's next strike. His eyes turn toward the little jeep riding away, rage on his face as he chased after it.

"Can this thing go any faster?" The young lady asked, tossing the broken branch away.

"It's been running for hours now...I'm almost out of power…" The pageant princess admitted. Ronnie Anne frowns, looking back at the leather clad vagabond behind them. He was starting to gain.

"I have a crazy idea. Head for that tree over there." She told him, pointing to a thin, rubbery looking tree.

"I hope you know what you're doing…." Lexx gulped, turning toward the tree.

"And now….bail out!" She yelled, pushing Lexx out of the toy jeep. Once Lexx was out of the way, Ronnie grabbed the tree and, using the momentum of the jeep's remain speed and her own strength, turns suddenly and flings the vehicle right at their pursuer. He couldn't stop fast enough to avoid getting slammed in the face. Ronnie Anne grinned, dusting her hands as she looked over the unconscious gangster. "Cold as a cucumber."

"That was incredibly stupid…..but awesome!" Lexx exclaimed, giving his passenger a high five.

Lincoln was pale in the face as he ran through the trees and brush, Kris and Claymore hot on his heels. Still being quite tired, he couldn't really run as fast as he normally could. However, he didn't to run much further. Before too long, he felt someone run between him and his hunters. He looked back, gasping for breath, to see Lars had once more appeared out of seemingly nowhere. His appearance caused the two big bruisers to stop in their tracks.

"Leave my brother alone and leave these woods now." Lars demanded of the gang members, in his cold, lifeless voice. Kris and Claymore both looked surprised that this little kid had the nerve to talk to them like that. Their surprise soon gave way to laughter.

"Hahaha! Do you really think you scare us, emo-trash!?" Kris taunted.

"Me? No. But tell me….are you afraid…." Lars grinned, which caused the two men to become very unnerved. "...of the Big Bad Wolf?" The way he said that, it made them even more nervous. However, the growling noises that surrounded them was what truly terrified them. Emerging from the shadows, a pack of five snarling wolves were bearing down on the two brutes.

"Wha….where…...how!?" Kris asked, his voice trembling.

"Attack." Lars said, the canines charging at the two. While scared out of his wits, Claymore still threw himself in front of his boss, taking on all five wolves at once. Kris took the opportunity to beat a hasty retreat, leaving his meaty minion to take on the entire pack at once.

"L...Lars...you saved me again…" Lincoln said, his eyes starting to tear up.

"Think nothing of it." He replied. "Save the tears for after we're safe. Now let's go." He holds a hand out to Lincoln and, once his brother took his hand, he looked to the wolves biting the overwhelmed ruffian. "Bite, injure, scare the daylights out of him, but don't kill." He instructed the wild wolves. To Lincoln's surprise, one of them looked back to Lars and seemed to not only understand, but obey.

Lynn had finally run out of baseballs, but he hadn't run out of goons to pummel. There were still two gang members on their feet and very angry. Rather than teaming up on Luke, they ran in the direction where the balls had come from. Lynn stood there, waiting for them, ready to fight. "You made a big mistake, kid! Let's get him, Stiletto!"

"Right behind you, Katar!" Before they could assault Lynn, however, a pie flew through the air and right into Katar's face.

"Hahaha! Looks like you got your just desserts!" Lane called from a cluster of shrubs. This angered the cream covered criminal, causing him to run toward Lane. This left Stiletto to face Lynn by his lonesome. Lane simply stood there, looking at his fingernails in a cocky manner as Katar charged like a bull toward him. He never reached Lane, however, because he ended up putting his foot into a snare trap. The rope wrapped around this ankle and pulled him off his feet and suspended him seven feet in the air by a tree branch. Alternate Lincoln stepped out from behind a tree, smiling up at his handiwork. "Nice work, Other Lincoln."

"Thanks. They don't call me the man with the plan for nothing."

"Let me down!" Katar yelled, struggling around in the air.

"Awwww, you don't like hanging around with us?" Lane quipped, followed by a shrug. "Suit yourself." He reached over to untie the knot holding him up.

"Wait! Not like that! Not like thAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" Katar called out right before he fell to the ground. Fortunately for him, the ground was soft enough to not cause serious damage, but the impact was enough to knock him out.

"Alright, punk...just you and me…" Lynn said with a smirk, assuming a boxing stance.

"Not so fast, shorty...I got one of these." Stiletto drew a switchblade from his pocket, pointing it at the sports enthusiast.

"You think that scares me!?"

"I'm going to enjoy gutting you!" Stiletto was about charge the spunky brown haired lad, but he is stopped by a sudden sting in his neck.

"I think not." Came the voice of Levi, shortly before an electric shock is sent through the knife wielding punk. The weapon falls from his hand as he fell over, unconscious.

"Ok. Number one: I could have handled him."

"No doubt, elder brother, but this remedied the situation quicker." Levi explained as he collected the prongs of his taser.

"Number two: where did you get a taser!?"

"Ask no questions and I'll tell no lies. Now assist me in bringing this dim witted buffoon back to the others."

"I think that's all of them." Luke said as he dumped the beaten and unconscious form of the man who had attacked him onto the pile that started with Dirk.

"Actually, one got away, but here's another one." Lars said as he brought Lincoln back to the group, the wolves dragging Claymore with them. He was still conscious and in fairly good shape for being attacked by wolves, but borderline traumatized. They release him near the pile of his downed friends, growling at him to keep him still.

"Perhaps it would be wisest to alert the authorities, while they are all still unable to fight back." Levi suggested.

"Good idea, little bro." Luke said, pulling out his cell. Kukri didn't like where this was going, but she had a plan. She looks back at Loni.

"Hey….my back is kind of itchy. Do you mind, dearie?"

"Oh. Sure thing. Not a problem." Loni said with a smile. Her released her and started to scratch her back. His reward was an elbow to the gut.

"How sweet of you. Dumb, but sweet." She said. Before anyone could act, she ran over to Lars and Lincoln, shoved the gothic kid away and grabbed the middle Loud.

"Hey!" Ronnie Anne was about to charge her, but she froze when Kukri drew a snub-nosed revolver and put it to Lincoln's head.

"Back off, sweetie...you don't want his pretty snowy hair to be tinged with blood, would you?" The pack of furious wild currs snarled at her, starting to step toward her. "And that goes even more for your little pets too…tell them to go away."

"...go on and leave...thank you for your help…" Lars said in a deadpan manner, the pack slowly departing from the scene and returning to the deep woods.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place, Babe?" Kris asked sourly, finally stepping out from the bushes he had been skulking in as he saw his gang getting beating down by kids.

"Not now, Kris." She hissed. "Now then, you're all going to give us a good, long head start before you call the fuzz. Promise me that and I'll let the little snowflake go. Sound good?"

"Don't think we really have a choice…" Luke said begrudgingly. "Alright...let Linc go and you can run into the nineties for all I care."

"A pleasure to do business with you." Kukri teased, lowering her weapon and letting Lincoln go. He started to run back to his brothers when Kris suddenly grabbed his right hand gal's weapon.

"Kris!? What are you doing!?" Kukri asked indignantly, but then she gasped as he pointed the gun at Lincoln's back. "Wait! Kris, don't!" She yelled.

"LINCOLN!" His brothers, Ronnie Anne and his otherworldly doppleganger all cried. He slowly turned his head back, his face going pale as he noticed Kris starting to squeeze the trigger. Before he could….BEEP BEEP! The sound of a horn caught everyone's attention. They all turned to see Vanzilla bouncing across the rough terrain, barreling toward Kris, Loki at the wheel looking like a man on a mission. Kukri screamed and dove out of the way, while Kris turned and fired at the vehicle. He didn't hit Loki, but it did do some damage to the engine. The van bounces one last time, Kris dropping the gun out of fear and running for his life to avoid getting crushed by the car.

"Time to go…" Kukri said, starting to run for it.

"Not today!" Leif called out, throwing a lasso at her from the van's roof. He catches her right around her midsection, forcing her to a stop as Leif yanked on the rope. The mighty little boy pulled her back to the van and jumped on her, wrapping her from ankle to shoulder in rope. While this was going on, Loki had lept out of the passenger side window and tackled the gang leader to the ground.

"You miserable, cowardly, sack of scum!" He shouted, punching the goon hard in the face with each word. "I should pound your face into the dirt for even pointing a gun at my little brother!"

"Loki! That's enough!" Loni yelled, grabbing Loki's hand.

"Dude's right, big guy. The jerk's not worth going to jail over." Luke said, joining Loni in trying to pull Loki off the now black and blue goon.

"...I guess…" he said, but that didn't stop him from kicking the guy in the ribs while he was down. Meanwhile, Lexx, Ronnie Anne and Lars were trying to comfort the shaken Lincoln.

"Are you ok, Lincoln?" The Latina asked him, concerned.

"Yeah...yeah...Just scared out of my wits…." He responded.

"No surprise, with how closely you were staring your mortality in the face….ow." Lars rubbed his arm after Ronnie punched him in the arm.

"You're not helping…"

"That's right, officer. Eight members of a gang called the Blades." Lane said, on his phone with the authorities. "Some names, yeah….Kris, Kukri, Claymore, Dirk, Katar, and Stiletto….don't know the other two…yes…..really?...well, I bet you're thrilled….about a half hour from the city, on route 62 west. Don't worry. They aren't going anywhere."

"Neither are we." Leif announced as he opened up Vanzilla. "The bullets put more holes in the radiator and the engine. We're leaking water and oil…" He was quick to put a pan under the car to catch the oil leak. "And I think the shocks are shot too."

"Oh, that's just lovely…" Loki grumbled. "Looks like we need to call a…" just then, his phone rang. He pulls it from his pocket and winces. "...it's Mom."

"Better answer it, dude, and get it over with." The rocker of the clan said. The eldest brother nodded sullenly as he took the call.

"Hey, Mom…"

"Loki, is everything ok? We thought you would be home by now." Rita said, sounding concerned.

"We...uh...hit some complications...and the van broke down again."

"Oh goodness…that van is more trouble than it's worth….dear, I know it's been in the family for a long time...we can discuss this later….where are you right now, Loki?" Loki took a took a deep breath, bracing himself for a possible freakout.

"About a half hour from the big city…" he waited for a moment as his mother went silent.

"Stay put." She said firmly. "We'll call a tow truck and charter a bus to pick you all up..and you will have some serious explaining to do, young man." The eldest brother sighed as his mother hung up, turning to the group.

"Mom and Dad are on their way...and they are not happy…"

Author Notes cont.: The thing that didn't make sense here: What was a city gang doing in the woods so far from the city? Never brought up. Never explained. I only realized it as a problem in hindsight, along with how they somehow managed to just stumble upon the Lincoln of the Loud Bros universe...so yeah. Not really happy with it, but gonna go with it anyway. If I can think of a way to fix it up later on, I will, even if I have to re write this chapter and the last one.


	5. Chapter 5 (Finale)

_AN: And here it is. The last chapter of A Linc Between World's, and much like the last chapter, I'm not thrilled with it. I think part of the problem may be I moved things along too quick. What do you all think? Anyway, I will probably end up re writting parts of the story and updating it sometime later down the road, like I said last chapter. Probably after I finish with Lincoln Loud and the Ghoul School. We shall see. But I at least wanted to bring some closure to the story I started, even if it isn't all that great._

Chapter 5

None of the assembled kids felt much like saying anything until the police arrived nearly forty minutes later. Loki had to be pretty creative with his story, not wishing tell the whole truth to them, but the important parts were still there; the fact they threatened his brothers, some with deadly weapons. Fortunately, that was all they needed and they carted the entire gang back to the city to lock them up to await trial. Once that was over, the uncomfortable silence returned, save for the sound of Lars writing in his notebook. Luke was leaning up against the now immobile Vanzilla, looking up the dawn sky. Loni was forced to turn off his phone since it was almost out of power, so he just sat in a circle with the younger Louds, the two Lincoln and Ronnie Anne. Lane was watching the highway, not even feeling much like joking at this time. Loki was pacing about, though it wasn't because he was waiting for their parents to arrive. He was deep in thought, trying to think of what he was going to do next. After about fifteen minutes, he finally spoke up. "Lincoln….I want to speak with you….in private." He said in a voice that was difficult to read. His brother's glared at him with looks of mistrust. Ronnie Anne was about to stand, but Alternate Lincoln put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. The two Lincolns looked to one another, with the other dimensional boy nodding to him.

"Go ahead." He whispers. "He may be a jerk, but even jerks deserve a chance sometimes." Lincoln looks between Loki and his double for a moment before he nodded, standing up and starting to follow his oldest brother.

"Are you nuts!?" Ronnie Anne berated him quietly. "Letting them go alone!?"

"Who said I was?" Alternate Lincoln whispered in reply. "Lars, follow them. Levi, try and watch them from atop Vanzilla. You can read lips, right?"

"With ease." Levi replied, sneaking along toward the inactive van while Lars simply started to follow Lincoln and Loki, knowing they wouldn't pay him any mind. Loki lead Lincoln far enough into the forest where he thought he wouldn't be overheard, but not too far that some of the group could still see them. Lincoln, naturally, kept his distance from the phone addicted older brother. Loki kept his back to Lincoln, trying to choose his words carefully.

"Linc…." He said, but then he paused a moment. "...I want you to come over here...and hit me as hard as you can."

"You want me to...what!?" Lincoln asked in shock and suspicion.

"Hit me as hard as you can." Loki repeated, turning around and kneeling down to Lincoln's level, looking serious. "Right here. Right now." The white haired boy could hardly believe what he was saying. This was obviously a trap. There was no way his older brother would let him punch him. As if Loki could read his mind, he held his arms behind his back. "I mean it. No consequences. No retaliation. Just hit me. Hard as you can." If he was speaking the truth, this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Throwing caution to the wind, Lincoln strode forward, right up to Loki. He raised his fist, ready to slug his brother: ready to make him pay for what he did to him. The pain, the bullying, the mistreatment. He deserved it, and even Loki seemed to be admitting it.

'...then why is this so hard?' Lincoln thought to himself. 'Why can't I hit him, even when he deserves it?' His fist was shaking as he hesitated.

"Linc….please. Just do it." Loki said, his tone almost pleading. A tone he never used before. When his younger brother still hadn't struck, Loki changed his tactic. "I said just do…!" He raised his voice in anger, Lincoln punching him across the face the moment he did. It was a fear reaction, just what he had expected.

"Loki...I didn't…I mean..." Lincoln stammered.

"Linc...I told you. I wanted you to hit me. And for a couple reasons." Loki explained calmly, moving his arms back to the front, one arm over his knee. "How do you feel?"

"...if it was supposed to make me feel better...it didn't." The eldest brother looked surprised at this. He usually felt better after he hit something, but this was Lincoln he was dealing with.

"Probably should have seen that coming…." He mumbled to himself. "Well, that was one reason for this. The second was to show you how serious I was about what I'm about to say." He looks right into Lincoln's eyes. "Lincoln….I'm sorry." He gave his brother a moment to respond, but when he didn't, he continued. "...sorry for beating you up at the slightest provocation…..sorry for laughing whenever you got hurt instead of helping like a brother should…..sorry for making your life more difficult than it needed to be...and most of all, I'm sorry to pushing you to the point where you thought running away was even a option." Lincoln just stared at his brother for a moment. He had thought Loki had no idea what he was even apologizing for. That he didn't really mean it. But it sounded like he did know. But was he sincere? Lincoln couldn't be sure of that. His expression hardened as he spoke again.

"Loki, do you really think just saying you're sorry will just make everything better….?"

"Not at all." He responded, throwing the white haired lad completely for a loop. "In fact, I would have been very surprised if I was forgiven so quickly…"

"...why?"

"How to put this….do you remember when you were younger? When we used to read comics together?" Loki questioned him, standing up and turning to look toward where the sun would be rising.

"Vaguely…." Lincoln answered, scratching the back of his head as he tried to remember.

"How about your first home run? Hit off one of Lynn's pitches, no less."

"That really happened? I thought it was just a dream…"

"Yeah, it really happened. Do you remember me teaching you to ride your bike? Or how we used to play with those old plastic army men? Or when I first fed you chocolate chip mint ice cream?"

"I remember the ice cream….but everything else...is pretty hazy." Lincoln admitted.

"Truth be told, I had forgotten too...until I saw the pictures on Loni's phone. Don't ask me why he had all those pics on his phone. Probably cause he's a sentimental guy. But looking at them again...it left me asking questions, Lincoln. Like….what happened between us?" He looks down at the grass, sighing a bit. "But that's not all, bro...that little trip down memory lane also made me reflect on moments that, if I didn't regret them then...I do now." He couldn't even bring himself to look at his little brother, mostly because he was starting to tear up. "How can I expect you to forgive me...when I don't?" While he didn't think it was possible, Lincoln could feel Loki's words tug at his heart.

"Loki...what did happen between us? How did it all come to this?" He asked, looking up toward the back of his older brother's head.

"...as cheesy as it sounds..I just grew up...my interests changed…my anger grew and my temper shrank…and I somehow got it into my head that beating on something made me feel better...but none of that is an excuse!" His voice started to crack, causing Lincoln to flinch in surprise. "I'm not only supposed to be your older brother, but your oldest brother...I'm supposed to protect you from harm, not be the one causing it!" Before Lincoln knew it, Loki turned suddenly and threw his arms around him. At first, he thought he was being attacked; so did Lars and Levi. But something else was happening. Something that completely stunned everyone involved, except Loki. As he held his younger brother, he was sobbing uncontrollably. Silently, yes, but still sobbing.

"L...Loki? Are you crying?" Lincoln inquired in disbelief. Instead of responding verbally, Loki simply nodded. The eleven year old Loud went silent for a moment before he himself started to get misty eyed, returning his oldest brother's hug.

"Lincoln...I promise I will make it up to you...for everything I've done to you…" Loki choked through his tears.

"Well, you are off to a good start...you saved my life back there." He gave Loki a small, but encouraging smile. "If you hadn't gone off road with Vanzilla and scared the life out of Kris, I probably would have been shot in the back...and then the others would have probably been shot too. Thank you, Loki." Loki looked at him for a moment, then smiled back, ruffling his hair.

"What are brothers supposed to be for, Linc. And thanks for trying to help me feel better...but I still feel like I owe you big for what I put you through...and I will do what it takes to make it up to you." The two of them shared one last hug before Loki stood back up. "Come on, Linc. Let's get back before Mom and Dad get here." Loki started to walk back toward the others, Lars making himself scarce and Levi hastily returning to the group.

Back with the group, the assembled Louds were all discussing how they think they would be punished when their parents finally get there. "I think it's safe to say most of us are gonna be grounded but good…" Leif said glumly.

"Speak for yourself. I myself have done nothing to warrant being grounded." Levi interjected, looking a little offended.

"How lovely for you…" Lane grumbled sarcastically, his elbow resting on his knee and his head on his hand.

"Dad will probably make us do all kinds of chores the whole time we're grounded…" Luke said.

"They...can't ground me, can they?" Alternate Lincoln asked nervously.

"Why would they do that!? You were essential in finding our Lincoln." Ronnie Anne pointed out.

"Besides, I don't think they could. I mean, you aren't their son...I think?" Lexx commented, though he sounded less than sure.

"Well, technically he is...but technically he isn't…" Loni said, frowning a bit. "...I'm all mixed up…."

"An interesting conundrum indeed. While he isn't born to our parental units in this world, he was in another world. The same parents with the same genetic makeup, but from an entirely different universe. Does their authority extend to him? I must consider this more closely when we return home." Levi said, looking like a kid with a new toy as he pondered this question.

"Hey, look. They're back." Leif said, pointing out Lincoln and Loki, who sat down side by side, beside Alternate Lincoln and Ronnie Anne.

"Everything alright, Lincoln?" Ronnie Anne asked, looking at her friend sympathetically.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. At least at the moment." He replied, giving her a smile in return to reinforce his words. "Guys...I just want to say….I'm sorry for running away like an idiot...and for dragging you all into this…"

"Don't talk like that, Linc." Loni said, moving over and putting a hand on his shoulder. "We're just as much at fault as you are."

"And as for dragging us into this, we made the choice to come looking for you. We're bros, bro. We stick together, now and forever." Luke assured him.

"Agreed." Levi added.

"Yeah!" The twins exclaimed.

"Blood is thicker, Lincoln." Lars said in his usual deadpan manner.

"And that's no joke." Lane said with a grin.

"What they said." Lynn said.

"So, are we good, Linc?" Loni asked, gently turning his brother's face to look at him.

"Heh. Yeah, Loni. We're good. We're all good, right?"

"Right!" All ten Loud brothers said at once, raising their hands in unison.

As the time of their parents' arrival came closer, one of the older Loud boys started to hang out near the highway in shifts so they would know where to find them. Fortunately (or unfortunately), they didn't have to wait long. By around 8 in the morning, Lane spotted the truck and the bus headed down the road. He waved to his brothers, letting them it was time to face the music. Alternate Lincoln went to leave the group and hide,but Levi grabbed his arm. "I don't see the point to hiding it, alternate elder brother. It'll all be revealed in the end anyway." He said, turning as he saw his mother and father being led to them by Lane, Leon in his father's arms.

"Lincoln!" Rita cried, rushing over to Alternate Lincoln and giving him a big hug. "Lincoln...you had us worried sick…" she said amidst her sobs.

"Um….I don't want to spoil this heartwarming moment….but your Lincoln is over there." He said, pointing toward the white haired boy sitting by Loki, looking surprised. She looks in the direction he was pointing.

"Oh! You're right...sorry…" she hastily let him go and dashed over to her middle son, hugging him tightly. "Lincoln….I…..I…..I…" She had just then realized what had just happened, slowly looking back to the double from another dimension, then to her sixth child, then back, then forth, faster and faster as she tried to make sense of it all. Lynn Sr was just as perplexed, his mouth hanging open as he saw both Lincolns before them.

"What….how…..what's going on!?" He finally managed to stammered.

"I think I can explain, father…" Levi started to say.

"Hold it, Levi….I think I better explain it." Loki said. "At least most of it. You guys may need to fill in a few holes…" His brothers nodded as the eldest brother got the attention of his parents. He then proceeded to tell the whole story to them, from what happened the previous day to Lincoln's departure, from summoning another one from another dimension to hunting their wayward brother, from reuniting at Albert's to finding Lincoln in the woods. He even included his ill fated attempt to force his brother to come home. The further into the story he got, the more angry Rita and Lynn Sr seemed to be getting. "...and then, Leif checked over Vanzilla and found the bullet holes made it impossible to fix here…and then you called...and that brings us to here and now."

"I see…." Lynn Sr said in a voice of forced calm. "Louds! Line up!" He barked, the ten children before him getting into a line from oldest to youngest, with Alternate Lincoln at the end by Loki, as quickly as possible. Ronnie Anne almost joined them, but she remembered she wasn't part of the family. Leon, on the other hand, was trying to get out of his father's arms. "Oh...Leon, not you. You weren't involved in…."

"Inkin! Inkin!" He cried, pointing at his true older brother.

"Oh. You want to be with Lincoln...well, alright." He said, nodding as he thought he understood. He walks over to Lincoln and hands the infant to him. Leon wrapped his arms around Lincoln's chest, smiling brightly.

"Heh. I missed you too, Leon." He said, holding the baby with one arm and hugging him with the other. Both parents and Ronnie Anne all went "awwwww!" at this adorable sight, but Rita and Lynn Sr quickly snapped out of it.

"Honey, we're upset at them right now, remember?" Lynn Sr reminded his wife, though he still took a picture.

"You're right. Don't be distracted by the cute…" Rita said, more to herself than anyone else, sneaking a picture of her own. "That's going to Pop Pop." She whispered.

"Anyway, stay put, kids...your mother and I need to discuss your punishments…" he ordered them before he and Rita put their heads together to work out how to go about this. The twelve children in the line had to wait about ten minutes before the two of them were satisfied with their decision.

"Lincoln Loud." Rita said. Both Lincoln's were about to step forward, but she amends "Our Lincoln."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Alt Lincoln stepped back in line.

"...we understand how you felt, Lincoln, and what your brothers did was wrong...but you should never have even considered running away from home an option….as you saw, you could have been hurt or killed, and no one would have been around to help you. It was a very foolish and reckless move, young man." Rita's lectured her son, Lincoln shrinking back a bit. Before she continued, she looks back to her husband, whispering something as if to confirm something. They both nodded and she looks back to her middle child. "...with consideration to what happened before we arrived, I think a full weeks grounding is appropriate."

"Y...yes Mom…" Lincoln replied meekly. In his mind, he got off easy, all things considered. She directed him to the side so Lynn Sr could speak his peace.

"Levi. Lars." The little genius and Duke of darkness stepped forth, looking calmer than the rest. "From what we can tell, you had no part in Lincoln's decision to run away. While we aren't thrilled with the fact you tried to hide this from us, we will give you credit for trying to find your brother, particularly you Levi. You two are excused."

"Yes sir." Levi said calmly, moving over to Lincoln and Leon.

"Thank you, sir." Lars said in his monotone voice, following his younger brother.

"Loni." Rita looks toward her second oldest son, who looked a little confused. "Loni, step forward."

"Oh. Right." He hastily takes a step out of the line.

"Loni, what you did was just a mistake. A careless mistake, but still a mistake. Not only that, but like Lars and Levi, you were among the first to look for your brother. You're excused too."

"Yes, Mom."

"Luke." Lynn Sr turned to his rock and roll son. "Your little stunt may not have been done with malicious intents, but there is no denying that results were embarrassing for your brother. That said, you were among the first to go looking for him as well. We aren't going to ground you, but you are on probation for a week."

"Understood, Pop Star."

"Lane, Leif." The six year old handyman and fourteen year old comedian step forward, facing their mother. "Unlike Luke, I can't see your prank as anything but malicious, done specifically to give your brother a hard time, Lane. And what's worse, you involved your younger brother in it….not that you aren't guilty either, Leif. You were a willing accessory to this prank. I will give you both credit for being some of the first to go looking for Lincoln, it's not something I can easily overlook. You're both grounded for five days."

"However, I will take two days off, Leif...if you can fix Vanzilla when we get home…" Lynn Sr added.

"Lynn!"

"Honey, that van is a Loud family heirloom…." He said in a pleading voice.

"Can I get a few days off if I help him?" Lane asked hopefully.

"Don't push it." Both Mother and Father said together, looking unamused.

"Can't blame a guy for trying…" Lane said with a sheepish grin and a shrug.

"Lexx." The pageant prince slowly faces his mother, trying to look small and cute. "I understand that your acting is important to you and getting feedback is important to improving….but extorting your brother and forcing him to be embarrassed for your gain? You know better than that." Rita scolded him, not swayed by his big, puppy dog eyes. "Yes, you were one of the first volunteers to look for Lincoln, but I don't think it balances out in this case. You're grounded for a week."

"Yes, Mommy…." A disappointed Lexx said.

"Lynn Jr." The sporty brother flinched as his father spoke. "What you did to your brother was potentially dangerous, shutting him in a coffin like that. For a Dutch oven no less. And what's more, you even decided a BALL GAME was more important than your brother's safety and well being. I can't even begin to describe how disappointed I am in you. You're ground for three weeks, and are prohibited from participating in your upcoming games during this time."

"Y...yes sir…" Lynn Jr replied, close to tears.

"Loki…" the eldest brother took a deep breath as he stepped forward. "Do I even need to say what you did…?" Rita asked, her anger and disappointment clear in her voice and eyes.

"No, Mom….we all know what I did...and I know it was very wrong…" Loki replied, hanging his head in shame.

"...then I will cut to the chase...you are grounded for a month. No recreational use of the car, no internet, and especially no phone." The Loud matriarch held out her hand to Loki to confiscate his phone.

"Can I just send one last text, to let Bebe and my friends know what's up?" Loki asked. Rita gave him a small nod, giving him the opportunity to inform his girlfriend and friends that he would be indisposed for the next month before taking his phone.

"And don't you worry about not having anything to do. We'll have plenty of chores for you to do around the house. And that goes for all of you." Lynn Sr turned to Lincoln, Lane, Leif, Lexx and Lynn Jr.

"Yes sir…." They all said in unison.

"And as for you…" Both mother and father turned their attention to the Lincoln from another world, who gulped in concern. His concerns ease a little when he sees them both smile, Rita saying "thank you so much for helping find our Lincoln."

"Oh...uh. You're welcome. Glad to be of help." Alt Lincoln replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Relax there. Even if we had a reason to punish you, which we don't, we really couldn't….at least, I don't think so….could we?" Lynn Sr turned to his wife for help, but she just shrugged, lacking an answer to that question. "Ah, nevermind. Point is, all you've done is help our family and for that, you have our gratitude." He reached out to shake his other dimensional son's hand while Rita gave him a big hug.

It took some work and a lot of Loud family muscle to get Vanzilla back on the road, but once it was and hooked to the tow truck, it was time to say their goodbyes to the Lincoln from another universe. "Are you sure you don't need a ride?" Rita asked as she waited for her children and Ronnie Anne to board the bus.

"Thanks, but I have a way to get back to my home." He said, pointing to the portal spawning watch on his wrist. "I should be fine….except…..oh good grief! I just realized I've been gone from home for nearly two days! There's no way Lisa could have covered for me for that long! My parents are gonna have a whole herd of cows!" He looked on the verge of a panic attack, his hands on his head as he paced about.

"Relax, Alternate Lincoln. I can remedy that." Levi said, moving over to look more closely at the device. "A few simple adjustments and….there. Now you should return roughly five minutes after you left."

"Whew...thanks a ton, Levi"

"No thanks are necessary, Lincoln from another universe. After all, in spite of having no obligation to do so, you risked a lot to not only find our brother, but to help rebuild the ties between us. I don't think we can thank you enough." The pint sized scientist smiled, shaking the other Lincoln's hand before he boarded the bus. Next up were Lexx and Leif, who nearly tackled him with a hug.

"Thanks Alt Lincoln!" They cheered together, smiling up at him.

"Heh. You're both welcome." He replied, patting them on the head before they stepped into the vehicle.

"It was rocking getting to know you, brother from another world." Luke said with a smirk, giving him a quick fist bump. "Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Oh, and say hi to Luna for me."

"Sure thing." Lincoln replied, though he did hope he wouldn't have to tell his sisters about this. Still, he could pass the message without the context and Luna would probably shrug it off.

"Other Lincoln." Came the soft voice of Lars. "Before you came, a dark cloud hung over our house. Now, the dark cloud exists only over me, where it belongs. If I had a heart, it would be swelling right now."

"Er...no problem, Lars." Lincoln said slightly awkwardly as he shook his hand.

"Hey, Lincoln!" Lane slapped his hand on Lincoln's shoulder as Lars climbed aboard the bus. "It's been quite an adventure, hasn't it? 'Eye' can hardly bear to see you leave." He quipped with a chuckle.

"Heh. Well, it was all worth it, the black eye included. I mean, no way I could've looked myself in the mirror if something happened to your Lincoln because I did nothing." Other Lincoln responded.

"Hahaha. Not bad, Alt Linc. Catch ya later, alligator." He gave Lincoln a hardy slap on the back before he joined his brothers on the bus.

"Hey…" Lynn Jr said in a glum voice, walking over to Alternate Lincoln. "I'm no good at long goodbyes...just wanted to say that I wish I had a chance to get to know you as well as my brothers did."

"Well, I might come back sometime. Maybe after your punishment is over, we can get together with your Lincoln and play some baseball." He offered, leaning over a bit to glance at the Lincoln from this world.

"Heh. That would be fun. And if you're pitching, he might stand a prayer." Alternate Lincoln's smile faded a bit as Lynn ran into the bus.

"Hey, Alt Linc." Loni was next, giving his other dimensional brother a big bro hug. "You take care of yourself, ok?"

"I will, Loni. Same to you. Hope to see you again soon." He replied, returning the hug before Loni had to join the others.

"Hey…" Loki stepped up to other Lincoln, looking pretty down. "Thanks for everything...and sorry for being such a jerk…"

"Water under the bridge, Loki." He responded, giving his otherworldly older brother a small smile. "Are...things ok with you and Bebe?"

"Think so….after I told her her about being grounded, she quick texted me to say we'd talk at lunch at school. Think she's as glad that Linc and I made up as we are."

"Glad to hear it." Alternate Lincoln gave Loki a hearty handshake before bidding him goodbye. Ronnie Anne was the next in line, giving the white haired dimensional traveller a playful punch on the arm.

"You're certainly something else, you know that?" She said with a chuckle "Your Ronnie Anne is one lucky gal, to have a friend like you."

"And Lincoln is lucky to have a true friend like you." He replied, grinning as he got her to blush. "Smell you later, Ronnie Anne."

"Not if I smell you first, Alt Lame-o." She retorted before surprising him with a quick hug. As she boarded the bus, Lincoln approaches his double, carrying Leon.

"I gotta say, it's still really weird, meeting another me."

"Tell me about it." Alt Lincoln agreed with a chuckle. "It's like something out of-"

"-Ace Savvy and the DeadMan's Hand? I know, right?" The two of them shared a brief laugh before Lincoln cleared his throat. "But in all seriousness, I can't thank you enough for everything. Not just for what you did for me, but for my family."

"You're welcome, Lincoln. Just don't ever think of running away again. If I get another call from Levi saying you ran away again, I'M gonna kick your butt." He joked, the two sharing one last laugh. Leon held his little arms out to Alternate Lincoln, fidgeting a bit until Lincoln handed the infant over. Leon hugged his other dimensional brother with a bright smile.

"Udder Inkin! Bye bye!" Leon babbled, giggling as his mother took him back into her arms.

"I guess this is goodbye for now." She said, stepping onto the bus right behind her husband. "Get home safely, Lincoln Two."

"I will. Goodbye everyone. Until we meet again." Alt Lincoln called out, waving to everyone on the departing bus, who all waved back. As soon as the bus was out of range, he pressed the return button on his portal watch, opening a rift in space and time.

Back in Lincoln's room, a few seconds after Lincoln had left…

Lisa watched as the portal faded, a smile still on her face. She had the utmost faith in her brother's ability to help them...but she also wasn't one to take chances. She decided she would stay up as long as possible and keep an eye out for possible distress signals back in her room. If Lincoln needed an emergency extraction, she wanted to be ready. However, less than five minutes later, a new portal opened. The little girl genius turned quickly to see her brother emerge from the portal, with dirty clothes, an unsightly black eye, and a smile. "Dear brother. Back so soon?"

"Levi fixed the dimensional travel watch so I would return home sooner. I was there nearly two days." He explained, removing the device from his wrist.

"I see. So, would it be safe to assume…?"

"Mission accomplished." He finished her sentence, smiling at her. "Their Lincoln returned home, alive and well, and made up with his brothers too." Lisa nodded slightly before smiling with pride.

"You amaze me sometimes, Lincoln. Your determination and tenacity to do that which is right is truly awe inspiring. I'm proud of you, brother and I am grateful for you helping my friend." Lisa said before she walked over to him and gave him a big hug. It wasn't often the brainy toddler handed out hugs, but she felt Lincoln more than earned it. The white haired lad returned the hug, but then yawned.

"I dunno about you, Lisa, but I'm ready to hit the sack…" The middle son said.

"Indeed. It is past both our bed times. Pay me a visit after you wake up in the morning so we can try and disguise that problematic eye injury. Too many questions would be asked if our other siblings saw it."

"Not to mention Mom and Dad." Lincoln agreed. "Good night, Lisa."

"Good night, elder brother….and thank you again." Lisa said softly, watching Lincoln as he left and closed the door gently behind him. The four year old brainiac fought back a yawn as she crawled into bed, ready for an evening of sweet dreams, thinking she would ask about Lincoln's adventures in another dimension tomorrow.


End file.
